YES, JOURNALISTS HAVE PATRON SAINTS,TOO

THEDURIANBEAT

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

Do journalists have a patron saint to pray to?
Yes. The Roman Catholic Church has annointed three of them for journalists to pray to when they are under threat from assassins or when confronted by the temptations of committing mortal sin by succumbing to media corruption; and to intercede with God to provide their family food on the table, the media profession/writing, being, according to Jules Renard, “the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.”
This piece is being written May 20, 2012, as the Roman Catholic Church commemorates the 46th World Communication Days.
In Rome, Pope Benedict thanked the wordlwide media for ppromoting Christ’s teachings.

READ MORE: Roman Catholic Church commemorates 46th World Communications Day.
But he also warned against mis-use of media.
“One cannot ignore the danger and the damage which these means, however noble in themselves, can inflict upon individuals and society when they are not employed by man with a sense of responsibility, with an honest intent and in conformity with the objective moral order,” Pope Benedict said.
The patron saints of journalists are St.Francis de Sales, St.Maximillian Kolbe and St. Paul the Apostle.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

He is patron saint of journalists because of the tracts and books he wrote.
Francis de Sales, T.O.M., A.O.F.M. Cap., (French: François de Sales) (August 21, 1567 – December 28, 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.

READ MORE: Francis de Sales – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE

Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar most famous for volunteering to die in place of a stranger at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Kolbe (born January 8, 1894; died August 14, 1941) was born as Rajmund Kolbe and was later also known as Maksymilian or Massimiliano Maria Kolbe and “Apostle of Consecration to Mary.”
He was canonized by the Catholic Church as Saint Maximilian Kolbe on October 10, 1982 by Pope John Paul II, and declared a martyr of charity. He is the patron saint of drug addicts, political prisoners, families, journalists, prisoners and the pro-life movement. Pope John Paul II declared him the “The Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century.”

READ MORE: Maximilian Kolbe – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ST. PAUL

Paul, who was born Saul, was a Jewish Talmudic student and a tent-maker by trade. Saul saw the Chrstians as heretical and openly persecuted them. As he was on his way to arrest yet another group of Christians, he was struck down and blinded by a heavenly light and was given the message that by persecuting the Christians, he was persecuting Christ. This was the beginning of his conversion. He was baptized and changed his name to Paul. He began traveling and preaching Christianity to the masses. He and St. Peter are credited with co-founding the Church. It was his letters to the churches he helped found that form a large portion of the New Testament. He worked with many of the earliest saints and fathers of the Church. Paul was later martyred in Rome.

READ MORE: Paul the Apostle – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ON AVERTING VIOLENT DEMOLITIONS: “Sana si Mayor Duterte na lang ang meyor namin!”

THEDURIANBEAT

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

VIOLENCE IN URBAN POOR ILLEGAL DWELLING DEMOLITION is a three-way street.

The urban poor using violence to stop the demolition.

Authorities using violence to implement the demolition order.

And in the case of Mayor Sara Duterte of Davao City, using violence to abort  an impending violence.

A street in Parañaque City turned into a virtual battle zone early this week as policemen battled  with residents of Silverio Compound who were fighting a court order for the demolition of urban poor dwellings.

In one of the bloodiest incidents in the history of demolition, vividly captured on national television, residents hurled huge chunks of rocks, molotov cocktails and other projectiles at dozens of riot policemen, some of whom replied with gunfire and tear gas canisters or by hitting the protesters with batons.

The street battle left one compound dwellers was dead with a gunshot wound in the head. At least 39 other people, four of them policemen, were injured.

Was the violence avoidable?

Yes by  strong political will..

Violence happened in Paranaque. It happened in Quezon City. But it was avoided in Davao City. How?

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s punching of a male court sheriff supervising a court-ordered demolition of more than 200 urban poor shanties in Davao City in July 2011 had inspired informal settlers facing eviction in Balara, Quezon City to hope they have a mayor like her.

“Sana si Duterte na lang ang mayor namin!!” then barked several large streamers at the background of angry informal settlers face-to-face with demolition crews and their 150-man police escort poised to tear down about 300 shanties.

The Quezon City scene early this year and the recent Paranaque demolition were  practically a repeat of the incident in Agdao District in Davao City .

The difference is that in Davao City the demolition crews and their police escorts retreated to forego the demolition after an irate Mayor Duterte arrived and went ballistic by punching to the face several times court sheriff Abe Andres who was implementing the court-ordered demolition.

In the Quezon City incident, wrecking crews demolished 350 houses on a one-ha private property in Barangay Old Balara in Commonwealth Avenue despite resistance from residents that led to a brief outbreak of violence.

Without a Mayor Duterte coming to their plight.

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista had intervened during the negotiations towards a win-win solution and requested for a five-day reprieve but this was refused by the property owner who was also armed with a demolition from the court.

In the Davao City incident, demolition crews were starting to tear down the houses when Mayor Duterte arrived and confronted Andres on why he gave the order to demolish despite her earlier plea to stay the eviction for two hours.

Failing to hold her tempers, Mayor Duterte dished out several punches to the face of Andres.

The punching scene was captured on video by local television news crews and was aired in national and international television news programs including CNN.

The incident earned not only public and media criticism against Mayor Duterte, a lawyer, but also several cases filed before the Office of the Ombudsman and the Supreme Court.

Where’s your common sense?

regardingHENRY

By Henry Tacio

Thomas Paine, in 1776, wrote a pamphlet entitled Common Sense.  When it was first published, there was no author; “Written by an Englishman” were the only words found.

Nonetheless, it became an immediate success.

Common sense is defined by Merriam-Webster as “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.”

As such, “common sense,” in this view, equates to the knowledge and experience which most people already have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “the basic level of practical knowledge and judgment that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way.”

Whichever definition is used, identifying particular items of knowledge as “common sense” is difficult.

Common-sense ideas tend to relate to events within human experience (such as good will), and thus appear commensurate with human scale.

Humans lack any common-sense intuition of, for example, the behavior of the universe at subatomic distances, or of speeds approaching that of light.

Often ideas that may be considered to be true by common sense are in fact false.

Conversely, certain ideas that are subject to elaborate academic analysis are oftentimes yield superior outcomes via the application of common sense.

So, what’s the point?  Nothing, except that I received an e-mail from a friend about the Stella Awards.  The awards, if you care to know, are ranked lists of personal injury lawsuits that, on their face, are frivolous but resulted in large damage awards in the United States.

“If you think the court system is out of control and America has lost all common sense, be sure to pass this on,” said the end of the message.

The originators of these lists choose to remain anonymous. The reference to “Stella” comes from Stella Liebeck, now deceased, who, in 1992, ordered a cup of McDonald’s coffee at a drive thru, took off the lid and put it in between her knees while sitting in the passenger seat of her grandson’s car.

The 180 to 190°F (82 to 88°C) coffee spilled from the cup, causing third degree burns.  The lawsuits are documented by Colorado writer Randy Cassingham.

There are seven people listed but allow me to feature just four of them.  Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peer after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store.

The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage.

Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open.

Worse, he couldn’t re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut.

Forced to sit for eight, count them, 8 days and survive on a case of soft drinks and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner’s insurance company claiming undue mental anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish.

A jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone.

The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?

Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth.

Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge.  The jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000 – plus dental expenses. Go figure.

“For the most part, the Stella awards lawsuits are a complete fiction,” wrote Jim Flynn, a private attorney, in an article which appeared in The Gazette of Colorado Springs.

“In circumstances where there actually was a lawsuit, the description of the lawsuit is incomplete and/or false in important ways.”

Flynn further wrote: “Although there is plenty of room for criticism as to how our legal system deals with injury-causing accidents, the reality is that frivolous lawsuits are rarely filed and almost never result in an irrational damage award.

Personal injury lawyers know better than to take on cases that require lots of work but offer little chance of reward. Furthermore, juries are not easily fooled and, if a jury does run amuck, trial court judges and appellate courts have authority to set aside or modify a verdict.”

I rest my case, your honor.

Crying turtles

Former Davao City councilor Leonardo Avila at the height of his popularity as the "godfather" of Hawksbill marines turtles in Punta Dumalag, releasing to sea captured turtles after rehabilitation at the Turtle Santuary

NO. 104 APR 16-22, 2012

    A politician in Zamboanga City is under severe fire from his constituents for abandoning his old cause to promote the protection and conservation of marine turtles.
As the story went, the politician gained popularity before the 2010 elections for his ‘love for the marine turtles’ that he used in the political campaign to lure the votes.
The issue was popular to environment-conscious Zamboanguenos and the politician won a seat in the local council all because he said he loved turtles.
He has altogether forgotten the turtles as soon as he won, and the Zamboanguenos are accusing him as a fake environmentalist and have vowed not not give him a single vote in the next election in 2013.
The joke going around Zamboanga is that even the Hawksbill marine turtles would be campaigning for him in the coming polls.
In Davao City, city agriculture officer-in-charge Leo Avila, as a city councilor, was immensely popular because he was instrumental for the establishment of the turtle sanctuary in Punta Dumalag. He loved turtles so much that you can hear him on radio, see him on television and read him in the newspapers talking day and night about his beloved Hawksbills that he has earned the monicker Ninja Turtle.

PUNTA DUMALAG IN DAVAO CITY

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) were so impressed by Avila’s honeymoon with the Hawksbills that they gave him subsantial funds (WWF in dollars, the DLPC in pesos) to help him run his Turtle Sanctuary in Punta Dumalag.
Like the Zambo politician, Dabawenyos initially loved Avila for his love for turtle while sitting as a member of the Davao City Council where he chaired the committee on environment. Turtles, many agree, helped Avila won a seat in the local legislative council.
But like the Zmbo pol, Avila too altogether forget about the marines turtles as soon and he is being accused of using the marine animals as tool for his political career.
The issue about Avila and the turtles has resurfaced as Avila, whose only passport to be city aggie OIC appears to be that he has run out the one-year ban on former elective officials  to hold a government office, is being accused of allowing commercial fish cages in Punta Dumalag.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said in a recent report on water analysis study said Punta Dumalag is in a state of massive pollution because of the fish cages.
Fish in the cages are fed with fish meals which excesses in time deteriorate to lead to poor water quality and threaten marine life, including Avila’s turtles, in the Punta Dumalag area.
In plain and simple talk, Avila by allowing the fish cages has destroyed the habitat of the turtles that he once loved so much.

SEE YOU IN 2013, MR. NINJA TURTLE

Talk about fakery of gargantuan proportions.
We heard Avila is making a comeback to the city council in the coming elections next year.
This early we hear talks about Hawksbills in Mindanao, including those in Punta Dumalag, joining forces to campaign against Avila and the Zambo politician.

Aggie chief blamed for

Punta Dumalag pollution

Matina Aplaya village head Jimmy Poliquit has blamed acting city agriculturist Leonardo Avila for the proliferation of fish cages in Punta Dumalag pinpointed by a government study as behind massive pollution.
A recent water analysis and study by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) of the Punta Dumalag area showed prevalence of bacteria that it traced to the fish cages.
Poliquit in a television interview said Avila’s office instigated the entry of fish cages in Punta Dumalag as part of livelihood program promoting marine resources.
Poliquit said Avila did not consult his village council. He said he was aware about pollution that the fish cages could cause to Punta Dumalag are Times Beach marine areas, which are being promoted by his village as a tourist destination.
The fish cages have been subjected to a public hearing following the DOST study, with City Hall recommending their immediate closure. The Davao City Council committee on environment chaired by Marissa Abella and the committee on agriculture headed by Conrado Baluran also probed the existence of the illegal fish cages.
Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said a study is needed before closing down the fish cages saying that investments and livelihood are involved.
Operators of the fish cages are said to have to business permit to operate from the local government.

——————————————————————————————-

November 30, 2006
Turtle summit set December 7-8

A TURTLE Summit will be conducted in Davao City on December 7 and 8 to encourage all local government units (LGUs) to help in the protection of the endangered marine turtles found within the Davao Gulf.

Davao City Councilor Leonardo Avila III said the summit will invite all 23 coastal LGUs in the region to participate in the preservation of the five out of seven marine turtle species sighted at the Davao Gulf.

The summit will also highlight the best practices in turtle protection being undertaken by the City Government of Davao, which will be shared to other LGUs for duplication.

Avila said they will also be sharing pertinent details of the IOSEA Protocol (Indian Ocean SouthEast Asia) with the participants. The protocol aims to protect, conserve, and rehabilitate marine turtle sanctuaries in all of the 26-country signatories including the Philippines.

Asked if they are winning the battle, Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Southern Mindanao Parks and Wildlife Division chief Manuel Isip said they have a very positive outlook on their advocacy.

“We are winning the battle. We will never fail with the support of the people,” Isip said.

Task Force Pawikan had been conducting information campaign in 10 coastal barangays in Davao City where sightings of marine turtles are reported.

Avila said this is to ensure that residents in the area would not harm the sea turtles but help protect them.

Next month, two turtle nests are expected to hatch at Punta Dumalag Turtle Sanctuary.

Avila said this will bring the number of hatchlings to more than 2,000 since they started their operation there.

Among the marine turtle species found in Davao Gulf are the Hawksbill, Oliver Ridley, Green Sea Turtle, Loggerhead, and the Leatherback. (BOT)

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in race for world’s Best Mayors online voting

    Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan are the Philippine city mayors  vying for the 2012 World Mayor Prize, an award given to outstanding mayors worldwide by the London-based City Mayors Foundation.

TO VOTE ONLINE

CLICK

World Mayor: Nominations for World Mayor 2012

 The City Mayors Foundation now seeks nominations for the 2012 World Mayor Prize. The Prize is awarded every two years to a mayor who has made outstanding contributions to his / her community and has developed a vision for urban living and working that is relevant to towns and cities across the world.

As of this month, 88 mayors from all over the world were nominated for the award – 16 from North America, 13 from Latin America, 30 from Europe, 19 from Asia, three from Australasia and seven from Africa.
Online nominations will be accepted until mid-May while a shortlist of 25 nominees will be published in early June. Winners and other results of the World Mayor Project will be announced in December.
“When contemplating the shortlist for the 2012 World Mayor Prize, the City Mayors Foundation will take into account the number of nominations a mayor has received from separate individuals and organizations and, more importantly, the persuasiveness of supporting statements,” said the foundation.
Previous winners of the award were Marcelo Ebrard of Mexico City in 2010, Helen Zille of Cape Town in 2008, John So of Melbourne in 2006, Dora Bakoyannis of Athens in 2005, and Edi Rama of Tirana in 2004.
Three Philippine city mayors have made it to the top 10 since its establishment in 2004: then Marikina City mayor Marides Fernando ranked 7th in 2008; former Makati mayor now vice president Jejomar Binay placed 4th in 2006; and still incumbent mayor of San Fernando, Pampanga, Oscar Rodriguez, bagged the 4th spot in 2005.
The City Mayors Foundation, an international think tank on urban affairs, organized the World Mayor Prize to “honor mayors with the vision, passion and skills to make their cities incredible places to live in, work in and visit.”

Between the honest and the crook

SWITCHBOARD

ROLDAN GORGONIO

Davao City is a haven of a dozen of honest public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers. It is a plus-factor, a come-on for wellness’ sake, and something to be thankful for. In the face of all insurmountable crises, one could take a foretaste of heaven with honest men and women next to you. This word “honesty” will give anyone an indescribable experience. But in all likelihood, such is feared to become an extinct trait in the coming era. Honesty is who really you are with or without the camera.

NO. 103 APRIL 9-15, 2012

This fast-growing city is so far like a rosary: there are five for sorrow and ten for joy. There will also be sorrows because others do not change their ways and still patronize the dark side. Media’s attention may tend to focus more on honest souls than the corrupt because what gives a good source of news is still about honesty than about crooks. The crooks are always there, the honest is one in a million. It is oddity that takes its course just like a worn-out cliché: the dog bites the man, it’s no news. But when the man bites the dog, I bet, the tri-media will pick it up for its news value.
So with the other Dabawenyos, many are reported to be so honest that in the latest account, thousands of US dollars got back to its owner after an honest citizen had the money returned. Not only that, for how many times do we hear taxi drivers returned cash and valuables left by their passengers inside their cabs? Such attitude and virtue is worthy of our praise. They truly deserve to be called honorable.
“It’s not mine and I should return it!”, one taxi driver exclaimed as he said he has never been in the onsets of temptation. It is conscience that bothered him, defying that quick money opportunity and take note: no CCTV captured the acts. It was pure and the intention, very clear. This honesty must be put at the hallmarks of this city’s history, their story chronicled so people will be more inspired, especially that these heroes came from their ranks and status in life. It could be worth reading after a hard day’s work and a perfect dinner tale for all families.
So where are the crooks and abusive drivers? The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) fare rate increase of fifty cents it called as “provisional” heats up the debate among operators and the mass of commuters. The order does not affect Davao, no, not this time. However, with petitions from the group of operators and drivers tossed disdainfully off to LTFRB, its approval is in the offing. But absent the approval of LTFRB in Davao, still, some drivers collect more than what is legally imposed. Some erring drivers have also even openly discourteous to their passengers. Note, many would leave their cars at home and opt now to commute and be practical because of the unstoppable, sky-rocketing fuel prices.
There is a story of a peso short-changed to a passenger which if heard by the LTFRB, and if it found the driver guilty of overcharging, that lacking peso could cost the driver thousands of pesos. The fine or penalty of an overcharged fare against the driver or operator is now fixed by LTFRB at three thousand pesos. The Land Transportation Office (LTO) could also separately impose a fine of one thousand five hundred pesos to the driver or operator. Drivers must also watch their bad-mouthing against passengers because LTFRB can slap them a staggering fine of PhP 3,000 and another PhP 700 (plus a seminar) by the LTO for arrogance or discourtesy. Yes, we admit the drivers’ role in transportation but this should not give them the license to abuse it.
Drivers will pay for their desperate defiance of the order of LTFRB. With their disgraceful plight that sometimes hinted an eruptive violence to the public will only work against them. This is a sorry state of President Aquino’s term with this problem on energy. But everyone must be sober and be civil to face this crisis. For all we know, the president needs energy to look for energy and that is an all-time truth.

AQUINO SHOULD TAKE LEAD IN SOLVING MINDANAO POWER CRISIS

Taking the lead

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

EDITORIAL

NO. 103, APRIL 2-8, 2012

    President Aquino should take the lead in solving the power crisis in Mindanao.
And rein in spokesmen who have no inkling of the Mindanao power situation from making irresponsible statements.
Asked on the presidential position on the Mindanao crisis, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the public would have to choose between high price for electricity or no electricity at all.
Valte’s statement hastened the installation of “noynoying” in the dictionary to describe the speed with which the Aquino administration is responding to problems.
“Imeldific” is a painful scar the Pinoy has to bear for ages thanks to massive corruption in the Marcos regime.
We could not afford to have “noynoying” added in the books to make our suffering more painful. It would be unfair to attach turtles, already an endangered specie, to describe the manner with which this slow-footed administration is responding to people’s hells like the Mindanao power crisis.
Aquino would be in Davao City for a summit on the Mindanao power situation.
But we don’t expect him to defend Valte for her act of nincompoopism for  a statement on such serious a matter as the Mindanao power crisis.
We expect him to come up with short and long term solutions.
Mindanaoans would be expecting the shorter solution.
Today brownouts are creeping like a plague to throw many areas in Mindanao into darkness.
There is no need to elaborate lengthily on the impact of this economic tragedy.
Industries laying idle. Business moving slow. And more woes.
The Aquino government is moving towards resolving the Moro problem in Mindanao, the decades-old monkey in the back that has been derailing the island’s march forward.
The government acknowledges Mindanao’s role in the national economy, a fact that inspires Mindanaoans to do their role with energy in the overall effort of national development.
Now comes this power crisis that could throw to the waste basket all of the government’s efforts to make life good for the Mindanaoans.
If not resolved at the soonest, the Mindanao power lack could be worse than the still to be resolved Moro insurgency, the Abu Sayyaf or the communist insurgency.
Mindanaoans want to hear solutions to the power crisis.
The Energy Summit in Davao City would be the right time for President Aquino to tell Mindanaoans that Malacanang has a heart for them..
Never mind Valte.
President Aquino should also commit himself that the national government has a longterm solution to the Mindanao power crisis.
Today, Mindanao needs not only peace and order stability.
Above all, it needs stable power supply to be able to play its role in national development.

HOLY WEEK: Are you a Judas?

THEDURIANBEAT

BY ROGER M.BALANZA

    Holy Week is the week when the Passion—the suffering and death of Jesus Christ is remembered.
On PalmSunday Our Lord Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem, the holy city, mounted on a donkey. This event had been prophesied centuries before.     The people who loved and revered him made the journey a procession. Some laid their cloaks on the road to serve as carpets. Others waved palm branches, in the way great men were honored in those days.
The people knew they were in the presence of a great preacher. But the more meditative ones had come to recognize Him as the Messiah, when He taught them doctrine lessons about the Scriptures and when He multiplied bread so hungry multitudes could eat. They chanted hymns, and shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”
The noise scandalized some of the Pharisees, or made them envious of the homage He was getting from the people. They scolded the people so they would stop their songs of joy and love of God. But He said to the Pharisees, “If these are silenced, the very stones would cry out.”
How joyful we should be knowing that God has made Himself a man so we can be like Him. Do we allow Christ to enter our being so that we can be His temple? Or are we, like the Pharisees, blocking his entry into our lives?
The Gospel today tells us of Jesus’s visit, six days before the Passover, to the house of Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary. This is the Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They made Him supper, Martha served and Lazarus was among those at table with Jesus. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray Him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief and took whatever he wanted for himself from the money box. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep the ointment for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
Are you one of those Catholics who complain about the Church for spending money on beautiful altars and shining sanctuaries for the Blessed Sacrament? Would you make the living God in the form of the consecrated wafer to dwell in just any box. If you truly believed that Christ—His Body, Blood and Divinity—is truly alive in the Blessed Sacrament would you begrudge him the best lodging place in the church?
Or are you just claiming, like Judas, to love the poor? MTeditorial

NO. 102, APRIL2-8,2012

BANANA REPUBLIC – COLUMN – NOEL BAGUIO – DURIAN POST

BANANA REPUBLIC

      

BY NOEL BAGUIO

To the grassroots

Forty-nine year-old Nenita Balong was so overjoyed to see the abundance of medical, social and other services given free to residents of the remote timberland barangay of Mambing in New Corella town, this province.
For this slender mother of eight, the flurry of services brought by the Davao del Norte Convergence for Peace and Development (DNCPD) program held recently in her village, is truly a great blessing from God.
We thank God for the presence of our provincial officials, along with the army and the police, in order to provide these services,” she beamed.
Balong came to the village center to seek medical relief for her persistent cough. Tagging along beside her was her daughter Judith Elak, with her kids, two-year-old Queenie and one-year-old Karen Joy, who also had their health checkup. The family also took advantage of the free legal services, vegetable seeds and veterinary products for their livestock.
Another resident, 77-year old Agripino Amora, pointed out the resemblance of the activity, which is the first of its kind in the village, to a local fiesta celebration, with all the swarms of people streaming to and fro.
The only difference, he noted, is that the multitude of people came to benefit from the plethora of health and human services available on the menu, instead of the palatable local delicacies served during the patronal fiesta of the barrio.
Amora was all praise to the provincial government for bringing the services of the Capitol at their doorstep.
As he showed off the brand new pair of eyeglasses he just availed, he related the dilemma of the villagers, particularly in seeking medical attention for their ailing loved ones.
He said residents of the barangay pay a fare of P90 each for a ride on the “habal-habal” motorcycle taxis that ply the rugged and bumpy road from Mambing to the Poblacion of New Corella, some 19 kilometers away. They still have to commute by jeepney for another 19 kilometers in order to reach the Capital City of Tagum, where several tertiary hospitals are located, including the government-owned Davao Regional Hospital.
The forestal village of Mambing is at the periphery of the neighboring province of Compostela Valley. Hence, due to its geographical isolation, it is more convenient for villagers to bring their patients to clinics in ComVal’s Capital town of Nabunturan, some eight kilometers away, or to the district hospital of its adjacent town of Montevista, also in ComVal province.
The septuagenarian was very much delighted when 1st District Congressman Anthony del Rosario announced he will put up a medical assistance fund at the Montevista District Hospital intended for patients coming from Mambing. The assistance will also cover those patients coming from the other far off timberland areas of New Corella, to include the barangays of Patrocenio, Sta. Fe, and El Salvador.
Congressman del Rosario again joined the community health and social outreach activity in Mambing to show his all-out support to the convergence initiative, which was organized by the province last year, in coordination with the army’s 1003rd Infrantry Brigade, the Davao del Norte Provincial Police Office, and other agencies.
The representative also handed over a new wheelchair for Mrs. Anunsascion Vallesir, who recently suffered from a stroke.
Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario is very much confident the insurgency problem will be properly addressed once the convergence program gets its way in all the 30 geographically isolated and depressed barangays of the province this year.

Is there a need for change?

THEDURIANBEAT

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

 Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in his Sunday program Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa over the weekend talked about politics and the coming 2013 elections.
No wonder. Next year’s polls for the second time would be an automated polling and the Commission on Election needs more time to prepare election paraphernalia.
The filing of Certificates of Candidacy comes earlier in the last two weeks of October this year.
The election fever should also bite earlier the politicians and the poliitical parties.
With filing of candidacy early, there should also be early selection for party bets.
Automated elections, if there is a downside to it, has extended the unofficial period for campaigning to several months, although the official period should be 45 days (for local candidates) up to E-day. This means a candidate should have larger campaign kitty.
But there is an upside to it too. The unofficial extended campaign period gives more time for the candidates to present themselves to the voters. Conversely, voters are given ample time to assess the politicians.
This is supposed to boil down to intelligent voting on E-day.
At this point in time, although the election is more than a year away, politics should already be a matter of public discussion.
For members of the press, it would be no sin to start with its mission to educate voters on intelligent voting, being partners in governance and guiding light for voters in knowing their candidates.
Media people stand up upon demand of their calling as messengers of good and bad news during elections, for people to know their candidates and help them come up with decisions on who should be their next leaders deserving of their trust and confidence.
Along the way, they get labeled as political partisans under pay of some politicians. Along the way, they get praised for telling the truth, in the spirit of free speech in aid of intelligent choice. Along the way, they are charged for libel for telling the truth—or for peddling lies against certain candidates.
Whatever, media people do their job—at the risk of earning praise, being tagged as lapdogs or at worst crucified with a libel rap.
In Davao City, Dabawenyos, like the rest of the Pinoys, would now be starting to assess politicians vying for seats in the coming elections.
There would be those who would challenge the present leadership.
And there would be questions to answer if there is need to or not to achieve an intelligent vote—to retain the present leadership or usher in new leaders.
We take this opportunity to throw in some of these questions to guide voters.
Is there a need to change their leaders? Will the change benefit them?
Is there a need for a change in this city that has become the envy of other cities?
Has the challengers something to add to the excellent peace and order situation?
Has a candidate done anything for the good of the Dabawenyos and their city?
Is the candidate sincere?
At this point in time, we are elated that these questions served as barometers for intelligent voting in the past, the reason why the Dutertes remain as top choice of the Dabawenyos every election day.
These barometers in fact have been reduced to a simple routine.
The Dabawenyos simply look at photos of the Dutertes, and then at the opposition, and pronto, make a sound decision.
But in the coming elections, certain politicians whose hunger and ambition to topple down the Dutertes have been frustrated with never-ending ignominous defeats and their political stock consigned to oblivion, are expected to surface anew to pose a challenge to the present leadership.

These ambitious politicians are political sadists who find hapiness in tormenting themselves with political defeats.