Drilon ignores Padilla’s braggadocio

“The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity.”

—Jackie Robinson

By Alex P. Vidal

 

ILONGGOS were worried that retired former senator Franklin Drilon might be bullied by the bakya fans of Senator Robin Padilla if the Iloilo leader dignified the former movie action star’s braggadocio in reaction to Drilon’s concern for the “deteriorating” Senate prestige.

Padilla is the matinee idol of those who mistook the Senate race for an election for the most popular celluloid leading man, with due respect to his 26 million voters.

And they mushroom in the social media, the most powerful and brutal tool to make and unmake any aspiring candidate for a higher office.

Luckily, Drilon didn’t glorify the brat’s saber rattling. It was enough, as a moral duty, that he aired his concern for the Upper Chamber of Congress as an institution after some senators he didn’t name were supposedly lacking decorum.

Drilon had also lamented “a very noisy Senate session” as well as the use of expletives by some senators during committee hearings or sessions captured “live” on national TV.

 

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The Iloilo statesman had also appealed to Senate President Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and other senators to uphold respect and honor at the Senate.

But Zubiri, who has reportedly presidential ambitions, didn’t say something about the issue. Apparently he chickened out for fear of being lambasted by the social media hooligans who worship the former “Bad Boy” of Philippine showbiz. 

Padilla argued that the latest batch of senators should not be dismissed as jesters since the problems inherited from so-called honorable senators are anything but amusing.

“Ang Senado po ngayon ay hindi nagpapatawa dahil ang minana namin na suliranin ng Bayan mula sa mga nagdaan na kagalanggalang at honorable senators ay hindi katatawanan,” he said. “Seryosong pamana ito na dapat hinaharap ng may positibong pananaw.”

Padilla, who spent years in the National Bilibid Prison for gunrunning, recently stirred controversy for combing his mustache while in Senate hearings.

 

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AIR QUALITY DETERIORATES ANEW.  I received an email June 28 from New York Governor Kathy Hochul which was also received by other New York residents:

Alex, Air quality is deteriorating very quickly in New York State as a result of the Canadian wildfires.

New Yorkers should be prepared for Air Quality Index levels ranging from 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups' to 'Unhealthy' throughout the state today and tomorrow.

But as we saw a few weeks ago, conditions can change very quickly — with potential for temporary spikes to reach 'very unhealthy' or 'hazardous' levels.

As we continue to closely monitor conditions, we’re getting the word out to commuters from Buffalo to Brooklyn on air quality conditions and how they can protect themselves. From PSA messages on freeways to working with transit companies across the state to share audio and visual messages with riders, we’re making sure New Yorkers can get prepared.

Earlier this month, we made one million masks available for New Yorkers, and we are distributing these high-quality, N95-style masks again to make sure everyone can protect themselves from the smoke and haze.  

If you ride MTA, LIRR, or Metro-North, click here to find a list of locations where you can get a free mask.

If you live outside the New York City metro area, check with your county for more information on where you can get a free mask.

As we continue to closely monitor conditions, please stay up to date on the latest information and take appropriate steps to protect their health — especially if you are in a vulnerable group.

Vulnerable groups include children under 18, adults 65 and older, and those with cardiovascular disease (e.g., congestive heart failure, history of prior heart attach) or lung disease (e.g., asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

How to keep track of air quality:

Use your phone's weather app 

Visit airnow.gov 

Visit the DEC website

Call the air quality hotline: 800-535-1345

Take steps to protect yourself if air quality becomes unhealthy:

Limit time outdoors 

Close windows 

Consider wearing a high-quality, well-fitted mask 

Stay safe, New York. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul

 

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In a CNN report, doctors are questioning a study that suggests a link between hormone replacement therapy and dementia. Women in their 50s who use estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy for menopausal symptoms had an increased risk of dementia within 20 years, a study found. 

However, experts say the study is unable to draw a direct connection to later-life dementia and that the overall benefits of hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, outweigh the risks. 

Women who have hot flashes, mood changes or sleep issues—all of which affect cognition—are more likely to seek out and use HRT, said Dr. Kejal Kantarci, a professor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “That means women who choose to use hormone therapies may actually be the ones who are already at risk for dementia,” Kantarci said.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

Oops, Putin does a Boboy Syjuco

“Nobody touches my ding dongs!” 

― Ray S. Jones

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THOSE who are fuming mad that disbarred lawyer and defeated senatorial candidate Larry Gadon has been gifted by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. with the portfolio of anti-poverty czar, should instead heave a sigh of relief.

We know that Gadon may be sometimes unhinged and his mouth frothing with profanities and vitriol even against women. In other words, he’s a potential troublemaker.

His new office, at least, doesn’t give him the power to harass and bark bitterly at critics of Mr. Marcos Jr. as he will be dealing primarily with the destitute and those who need three square meals a day but don’t have the capacity to feed themselves. 

If hot-tempered Gadon loses his patience and gets furious with those foraging for food and livelihood assistance, he can’t just pillory them and yell “pakyu” and “photang’na nyo” or he’ll end up being butchered by kuatro kantos, balisong, ice pick, and Indian pana.

We should be worried and alarmed only if Gadon was appointed as justice secretary (his appointment came before the Supreme court’s 15-0 disbarment verdict) or presidential spokesman where, aside from spewing a verbal sulfuric acid at the Marcos Jr. administration’s media and political critics, he could also mangle the facts and twist the truth on a regular basis while being paid by the taxpayers.

At least Mr. Marcos Jr., hogtied and held hostage by election losers queuing for employment after the one year appointment ban, was aware how not to place a square peg in a round hole. 

 

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In a display of bravado and to smokescreen the rat inside his abdomen following the tense short lived mutiny of Russian oligarch and Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin was seen waving at his civilian admirers and shaking their hands during a visit at the Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent, Russia June 28.

It was a good public display of strength and confidence; a brilliant PR stunt only days after the failed rebellion.

But, oops, poker face Putin was also caught in the camera doing an Augusto “Boboy” Syjuco, the late former Iloilo second district representative and former Tesda chief.

While shaking the hands of those who approached and greeted him, something he seldom did due to extreme security protocol, according to political observers, Putin, in white long sleeves, mistakenly offered his right arm for a handshake to a member of his security, who didn’t take it.

Sometime in 2003 during a big party in Hotel del Rio, Iloilo City, Syjuco, who loved to embrace and kiss individuals he met in social and political gatherings, entered the ballroom from the poolside in the Igmaan Hall and started embracing and kissing people (including me, his No. 1 media critic). 

The last person he embraced and kissed was his own bodyguard he didn’t notice was already standing inside ahead of him.  

While Putin realized his “mistake”, Syjuco (God bless his soul) never noticed the gaffe as nobody in the party wanted him to be embarrassed. 

 

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We warn our friends and kababayans to be ready for the heat wave that is expected to bake California this week.

An abrupt shift reportedly occurred from cooler-than-average temperatures to triple digits in the state which, according to experts, will increase the risk of heat-related illnesses.

The New York Times reported June 28 that the Golden State has recently been locked into a cloudier-and chillier-than-usual weather pattern, a stark contrast to the extreme heat gripping so much of the country. 

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the city had not yet hit 70 degrees this month, only the third time in a century that June has been that cool.

But hotter conditions are reportedly on the way. A high-pressure system building over the Pacific and moving into the Western United States is expected to raise temperatures in California beginning June 28, with the highest readings expected over the weekend.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

   

 

Ersatz ‘Love the Philippines’

“The thing about tourism is that the reality of a place is quite different from the mythology of it.”

—Martin Parr

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

FILIPINOS who have traveled abroad can attest to the fact that most foreigners they met who have visited the Philippines really love our country primarily because of its unique topography and natural resources like the beautiful islands, hills, waterfalls, beaches, among other breathtaking tourist spots.

Most of all, because of the Filipinos’ warmth affection; and also many of us—with or without a college degree—really speak fluent or good English. In a scale of one to ten, we instantly get nine with flying colors.

We also have the best hotels and shopping centers; the Philippines, for a while, is the mecca of international conventions, sports conclaves, and concerts by world class bands and entertainers.

But when the discussion shifts to the government—or how the government is being managed, we sorrily spiral downward. 

Many foreigners are aware what’s going on in the Philippine government and the quality of public officials we elect every election.

Aside from what they have seen on the TV networks and read on the newspapers and internet, some foreigners get accurate accounts concerning our state of governance directly from the horse’s mouth: their Filipino spouses.

 

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Many Filipino spouses just can’t tell a lie each time the affairs of our government become a topic even in casual afternoon tete-a-tete.

Even if they smokescreen the obnoxious episodes, the truth can’t be extensively and permanently swept under the rug: we have so many lousy and corrupt politicians, and our system is decrepit or rickety.

Filipino politicians were almost always chiefly to blame if the economy was in tailspin and the major chunk of the budget in the infrastructure projects has been scandalously siphoned to the pockets and bank accounts of serpents and crocodiles and their dummies and inamoratas.

Peace and order situation slightly pulls us up in the tourism approval stanza owing to the iron-fist policy of the previous administration vis-a-vis the criminal and home-grown terrorist elements.

When there are no violent uprisings form both the right and left sides of the political spectrum, the tourism cash registry is always expected to keep ringing.  

The changing of the tourism slogan from “It’s more fun in the Philippines” to “Love the Philippines”, however, will not guarantee that the external perception about who and what we are will improve and thus attract more tourists. Mythology is far cry from reality.

Sloganeering can help improve our overall standing in the area of advertisement for travel and leisure, but will have minimal effects in tourism as a whole, or the expectation of a sudden upsurge of beachgoers, kayakers, island hoppers, and mountain hikers like the tourism renaissance being experienced by “Vietnam—Timeless Charm” and “Amazing Thailand”, that have poured millions of resources, infrastructure, and manpower to their reinvigorated tourism industry.  

 

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The celebrated Greek doctor Hippocrates postulated that all human emotions flowed from four bodily fluids, or humors: blood (which makes us cheerful and passionate), yellow bile (which makes us hot-tempered), black bile (which makes us depressed), and phlegm (which makes us sluggish or stoic).

Though the good doctor's humors have given behavioral scientists a nice structure for examining personality types (sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic), the idea that our bodily fluids makes us angry, depressed, or elated died out in the 1800s, according to The Fascinating Book of History.

The withering of the Hippocratic belief in humors proved to be good news for patients who were not thrilled with the practice of bloodletting, a process of opening a patient's veins to lower blood levels in an attempt to bring the humors into balance and cure all manner of mental and physical ills.

Bloodletting, with a knife or with leeches, was an accepted medical practice from the times of the Greeks, Mayans, and Mesopotamians.

It was going strong at the end of the 18th century, when George Washington had almost two liters of blood let out to cure a throat infection. He died shortly afterward.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop treating the needy Badjaos like wild animals

 

“He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.”

—The Hollies in a song with the same title

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IT’S unbelievable that this is happening in a civilization that has produced Jose Rizal, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr.; and in a generation that has produced the astonishing laws and international treaties against bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination.   

After being tossed to the court of Iloilo City, the Badjaos have been thrown back to the court of Bacolod City like a volleyball in a match directed by top city officials squabbling for the ball position, or how not to possess it.

The only difference is no one wanted to keep the ball, which is being discarded like a foot-and-mouth disease-stricken pig. 

“We will not allow them to come here because they do not have work [here]. As much as possible, they should understand that if they come here, we will send them back. Their strategy is to look out on the roads, seek alms, and if we don’t give, they throw things. We cannot allow that,” said Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas as quoted in a report.

 

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Interestingly, the day it was reported that Treñas wanted the wanderers from Mindanao banished from the City of Love, he posted in his Facebook account the following (in all caps): ILOILO CITY EMBRACES "IRON HEART" WITH OPEN ARMS.”

Treñas’ Facebook post screamed: “We're thrilled to announce that Iloilo City has been chosen as the next destination for the highly anticipated series, Iron Heart! Get ready to be captivated by the storyline and performances of the cast and crew as they bring this action-packed drama to life in our vibrant City of Love. Let's embrace this exciting new chapter in our city's entertainment journey!”

With “open arms” for the rich and famous entertainment characters but with zero iota of compassion, mercy, kindness, understanding, tolerance for the poor, unkempt, jobless and begging nomads from a small ethnic Mindanao community?

 

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The Badjaos aren’t wild animals who must be rounded up, chased out and forced to leave “only because” they are considered as “eye sores” and beggars who don’t have jobs and sanitary discipline to assimilate in communities they have “invaded.”

If they were “accidentally” or “intentionally” dumped in one city or province and the LGUs want to send them back to Mindanao, they must be treated humanely and given the proper assistance, among other basic social and health services, while their voyage back home is being processed.   

The social welfare offices have abundance of resources and funds to assist the needy regardless of ethnicity, religion, sex, age, social and economic status. Under the universal law of human rights, we are all—and should be—treated equally.

All Filipinos in need aren’t heavy; they’re our brothers and sisters. (“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by The Hollies)

… The road is long

With many a winding turn

That leads us to who knows where, who knows where

But I'm strong

Strong enough to carry him

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

… So on we go

His welfare is of my concern

No burden is he to bear

We'll get there

… For I know

He would not encumber me

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

… If I'm laden at all

I'm laden with sadness

That everyone's heart

Isn't filled with the gladness

Of love for one another

… It's a long, long road

From which there is no return

While we're on the way to there

Why not share?

… And the load

Doesn't weigh me down at all

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

… He's my brother

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

He ain't heavy, he's my brother 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

Feed and shelter, not blame and quarrel

 

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”

—Arnold H. Glasow

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE appeal to politicians anywhere in the Philippines (not just in Iloilo and Bacolod) to stop quarreling over the Badjaos, or any ethnic group hankering for human attention and compassion. 

If the Mindanao-based muslim ethnic group, considered as the sea gypsies of the Philippines, “accidentally” arrive in our cities and provinces announced or unannounced, let’s welcome them with open arms, feed them, provide them shelters, and help arrange for their voyage back to Mindanao.

We should stop being panicky and acting like paranoids as if strangers will take over our domiciles and eat our children.     

Instead, let’s be kind to them, kindness that comes from the heart, not “kindness” that earns pogi points or praises from the public.  

That’s how cultured and educated members of the community should react and behave. 

We don’t need a charter or whatever cultural and religious ethos to remind us to behave like human beings or Christians. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Isiah 55:1)

 

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It’s not good for politicians to be at loggerheads and blame each other why the Badjaos, or any ethnic group for that matter, landed in one city, municipality, or province.

No need to declare a fellow elected public official as persona non grata for his “failure” to coordinate the transfer of a group of Badjaos from one territory to another like the spat involving Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas and Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran.

No one from the government should be alarmed and worried that the social services and welfare office of one local government unit (LGU) will be “burdened” if the Badjaos will extend their stay. 

In the first place, the primary mandate of the social welfare office is to provide basic social services for those who are in need.

No social welfare office will cry “overburdened” if it will only temporarily attend to the needs of transient beneficiaries. 

 

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No social welfare office can complain or will ignore and close its door on anyone needing social assistance. The government has enough funds for the poor, the needy, and the dislocated. 

The spat that transpired between Treñas and Familiaran was a result of “lack of coordination” and “miscommunication.”

Treñas was upset that Familiaran, as OIC Bacolod mayor, was supposedly instrumental in the “uncoordinated and poorly planned transfer of the Badjaos to their respective domiciles."

Familiaran, on the other hand, defended his move saying the 80 Badjaos were booked on a Jolo-bound roll-on-roll-off vessel that had docked in Dumangas Port.

He added: “They promised to go home. It’s not our intention that these individuals will proceed to Iloilo City. They docked in Dumangas port and we expected them to go home directly to their homeland in Mindanao.”

If Familiaran was telling the truth, it was not necessary for Treñas to harshly rebuke him.

If the Bacolod vice mayor was lying, the Bacolod city council should censure him. 

 

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The death of at least three billionaires in the OceanGate titan that disappeared on it way to the Titanic wreckage site on June 18 continues to be the hot topic in the social media and in the coffeeshops.  

We all have to confront it—that dark specter standing by the door beckoning us to enter what? 

Illuminate said every religion worth its salt has to define the “what.” Indeed, some would say religions only exist because we need to find an answer to mortality, that we create an afterlife in order to guarantee justice and to ensure there is place where the mysteries of life are solved.  

Stephen Hawking once said this: “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

Was he right? He thinks we have gradually been moving away from a superstitious mindset, a primitive dependence on metaphors, like God, and heaven, and final judgment, and into a mature realization that the reality the five senses give us is the only reality. We have been children; we are now adults and should act and think like adults.  

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

City hall’s ‘loan shark’ Atinado not an enemy

 

“It is a fraud to borrow what we are unable to pay.”

—Publilius Syrus

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

INITIAL investigation conducted by the Iloilo City legal office tasked by Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas reportedly pointed to City Beautification Program officer-in-charge Ninda Atinado as among those alleged “loan sharks” operating in the city hall.

“The [CLO] lawyers are now preparing letters to Mrs. Atinado, and to the other [one] involved, so we can formalize the investigation. After the formal investigation, then a recommendation would be made,” Treñas said, as quoted by The Daily Guardian’sJoseph B.A. Marzan in a report.

“The [CLO] held an initial investigation that is why Mrs. Atinado was not involved. Now, since there is an offense that they have seen, which Mrs. Atinado has denied, then a formal investigation is necessary so that the [CLO] can look deeper into it.”

Loan sharks are illegal lending. We agree that it should be prohibited.  

There are many risks attached to borrowing from a loan shark, for example: lenders will pay far more in interest than they would through any legal borrowing.

Also, lenders might be harassed or threatened if they get behind with your repayments (there have been reports of people being intimidated or attacked); and lenders might be pressured into borrowing more money to repay one loan with another and end up in a spiral of debt that you they never repay.

In other words, loan sharking is good for those who are in need of emergency funds, but bad if they can’t pay on time.

 

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As a city hall beat reporter during the terms of the late mayors Roding Ganzon and Mansing Malabor from 1989 to 1999, I have heard about Ninda Atinado, whose office was beside the office of the late former Treasurer Roming Manikan in the ground floor of the old Iloilo city hall.

I have personal knowledge, more or less, who were engaged in city hall loan sharking and how and where they operated; but times have changed, and I have not visited the city hall for a long time. 

Since, according to reports, Atinado has denied any engagement in loan sharking when the city legal office commenced the investigation early this year and most recently, we are not in the position to dispute her. 

She has the right against self incrimination. In fact, she has the right to deny all the allegations.

City hall lawyers will have to determine the truth.

One thing I can say, Atinado is not an “enemy.”

I don’t know her personally and I have no business with her in the past and in the present whatsoever. If the present city hall administration, with due respect and without prejudice to the ongoing investigation, considers Atinado a liability, it can be the opposite.

I don’t condone and will never support any loan sharking, but I’ve heard a lot of stories from the horse’s mouth how Atinado had helped so many distraught city hall employees solve their problems when they were on queer street.

“They approached her and she assisted them,” said Shaquille O’Neal (not the NBA player), a US-based former Sangguniang Panlungsod legislative staff officer during the time of the late Vice Mayor Guiling Dela Llana.

“It’s not a case of Atinado approaching them and offering them a double-edged scheme to solve their problems. They (distraught city hall workers) know where to go and Nang Ninda (Atinado) always provided what they needed).”

Malabor, who served as city mayor for three consecutive terms in 1992 until 2001, was aware of Atinado’s “acclaim” but did not touch her with a ten foot pole for a good reason.

His nephew, the late city administrator Bebot Geremias, would “recommend” solicitors and borrowers who went to the Mayor’s Office to “didto kamo bala kadto kay Ninda (why don’t you go to Ninda?). 

Geremias did not explain why.

I know at least two former city councilors who had also “directed” their financially troubled staff to “drop by” at Atinado’s office in the past. 

For about 30 years, the name “Ninda Atinado” was music to the ears of those connected in the city government, in one way or the other, who experienced how it was to be in dire straits financially. 

If the present administration will finally throw the book at her, many of Atinado’s “fans” might be saddened and will feel like the city hall is “killing the goose that lays the golden egg (for them).”

 

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NOTHING IS PERMANENT except the love of God and the love of our family. 

"Permanent" friends disappear when the color of money rears its ugly head; 

"Permanent" beauty fades away when age and the wrinkles flex their muscles; 

“Permanent" (or high paying) jobs end when health deteriorates; 

“Permanent" partners in life walk away when someone younger, sexier, prettier, more handsome distract the marital union; 

“Permanent" material wealth melts away when bankruptcy swoops down, and so on and so forth. 

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher born in 544 b.c. said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” 

God is "watching" whether we're going up or down; our family will embrace us from birth to death. Let's stick only to GOD and FAMILY. Amen. (Source: #alexpvidalquotes)

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Titanic spirits in the deep sea?

 

“Ghosts are all around us. Look for them, and you will find them.”

—Ruskin Bond

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

ACCORDING to our ancient folklore in the Philippines, there are “good” and “bad” spirits.

And that they sometimes stray or stay in the places where their bodies had died—especially if their death was gruesome or attended by frightful or violent circumstances.

If we ask a medium how long the spirit will linger after death, writer Sally Painter said the answer we will receive is that “spirit doesn't have an expiration date for how long it can hang around after death.” 

In fact, according to many mediums, spirits can come and go as they please, moving between worlds by exerting their free will.

There are instances when spirits can't or won't move beyond the physical realms for various reasons. 

For example, Painter said, “this might be because the spirit has unfinished business or loved ones left behind who the spirit wishes to protect and oversee their well-being.” 

Then, there are cases where the spirit cannot let of the negative emotions either surrounding their death or their life. 

These spirits fail to release from this world and cling to it. This is a matter of exerting free will, she explained, “and those spirits remain tethered to this world until they are ready to leave.”

 

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Was the “catastrophic implosion” put forward by the US Navy and Coast Guard to be the reason for the disappearance of the OceanGate Titan submersible while on its way to the Titanic wreckage site in June 18 caused by “bad” spirits who have been lingering in the deep sea?

It may be recalled that of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board the RMS Titanic when it sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, just off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg during its maiden voyage, over 1,500 lost their lives, mostly trapped inside the ship.

Is it possible that some of the spirits from the dead RMS Titanic passengers didn’t leave the area some 13,000 feet below sea level even after more than 100 years?

And that some of them “resented” the voyages of explorers or deep sea divers and tourists on board the submersibles like the ill-fated OceanGate Titan for “desecrating” their graveyard? 

Is it possible “they weren’t happy” anymore that their memorial place has been commercialized and turned into a tourist destination? 

 

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You may dismiss this eerie theory right away if you don’t believe in a ghost story or superstition being told in the month of June. 

It won’t hurt, however, if we digress in our interpretation of the deeply disturbing sea mishap that killed five crew, including three paying billionaires, once in a while for purposes of discussion.

As of June 22 (Thursday in the US), no US Navy and Coast Guard and sea diving exploration expert has openly lent credence on this probability raised only in this article for the first time.

Their investigation and post mortem analysis have zeroed in on the technical aspect, or the lack of sufficient safety measures on the part of the submersible company.

And besides, superstition, paranormal, and preternatural talks are considered a taboo in serious investigations of highly sophisticated technical matters in advanced countries like the US and Canada. 

Members of a massive international search effort found a debris field in the general area of the Titanic earlier in the day (June 22), and it was confirmed to contain parts of the Titan sub.

"The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel," Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, said in a news conference we watched while being aired “live” at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

The debris was found about 1,600 feet from the Titanic's bow on the sea floor, Mauger said, adding that it was too early to tell when the Titan imploded.

 

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OUR MORAL LIFE. Our whole happiness and even sanity depend on our moral condition. 

Since society doesn’t exist all by itself in a void, but is made up of individuals who compose it, the problems of society cannot ultimately be solved except in terms of our moral life. 

If the citizens are sane, the society will be sane. If we are wild animals, our society will be a jungle.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

A rich man’s stupid way to die

  

“Stupidity is also a gift of God, but one mustn't misuse it.”

—Pope John Paul II

 

By Alex P. Vidal   

 

I AM not a billionaire but if ever I become one, I will never do the stupid thing of wasting my $250,000 (P13.750 million) for an idiotic expedition (sea, air, land) and get killed as a result.

Of course, this is only my own opinion.

As of this writing, there was no confirmation yet that the five people—composed of three billionaires or “super rich” on board the Titan submersible that went missing since June 18 while on its way to the Titanic wreckage site—were dead, but after more than three days and their oxygen was reportedly diminishing fast, only a miracle can save them.

We’re hoping, of course, they managed to stay alive while rescuers were desperately combing the area “two times the size of Connecticut” even after more than 72 hours have passed.

We’ve been glued to the television watching the updates of the rescue mission since June 19. 

I initially thought it was a minor story until major news networks started to air non-stop “breaking” reports and overshadowed the Hunter Biden controversy that dominated the prime time news since over the weekend.

A Canadian aircraft was reported to have detected underwater noises in the search area of the missing submersible, but subsequent searches "yielded negative results," the US Coast Guard said

Crews searching for the Titan submersible claimed they heard banging sounds in 30-minute intervals, according to an internal government memo. The banging continued for hours after additional sonar devices were deployed, it said. 

Rescuers were in a race against time to find the 21-foot vessel--roughly the size of a minivan--that was touring the wreckage of the Titanic when it disappeared. 

 

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It started its descent Sunday morning and lost contact with its mother ship about an hour and 45 minutes into its trip, authorities said. Those aboard include a British adventurer, a French diver and a Pakistani father and son. They were identified as:

-HAMISH HARDING. The British billionaire and chairman of aviation company Action Aviation is among those missing. Dubai-based Harding had posted on social media that he was proud to be heading to the Titanic as a "mission specialist", adding: "Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023."

-SHAHZADA DAWOOD and his son SULEMAN. Their family have confirmed they are on board. Shahzada is vice chairman of one of Pakistan's largest conglomerates, Engro Corporation, with investments in fertilizers, vehicle manufacturing, energy and digital technologies. According to the website of SETI, a California-based research institute of which he is a trustee, he lives in Britain with his wife and two children. Shahzada's interests include wildlife photography, gardening and exploring natural habitats, while Suleman is a fan of science fiction literature, according to a statement from the Dawood Group.

-PAUL-HENRI NARGEOLET. The 77-year-old French explorer, whom media say is one of the five on board, is director of underwater research at a company that owns the rights to the Titanic wreck. A former commander in the French Navy, he was both a deep diver and a mine sweeper. After retiring from the navy, he led the first recovery expedition to the Titanic in 1987 and is a leading authority on the wreck site. In a 2020 interview with France Bleu radio, he spoke of the dangers of deep diving, saying: "I am not afraid to die, I think it will happen one day."

-STOCKTON RUSH. The founder and CEO of the vessel's US-based operating company OceanGate is also on the submersible, according to media reports. "It is an amazingly beautiful wreck," Rush told Britain's Sky news of the Titanic earlier this year. "Rush became the youngest jet transport rated pilot in the world when he obtained his DC-8 Type/Captain’s rating at the United Airlines Jet Training Institute in 1981 at the age of 19," according to his biography on OceanGate's website.

 

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If a Filipino in the US has committed a crime and will seek the help of any bigwig from the Philippine Consulate, the bigwig or his underling who will assist the suspect to escape from US authorities will be in trouble. 

The US Department of State has issued a statement it was “committed to deterring and promoting accountability for extraordinary foreign government involvement in aiding fugitives to evade the U.S. justice system.”

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken siad “Under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, I am announcing a new policy of visa restrictions on foreign government officials and agents who have intervened in a manner beyond the reasonable provision of consular services to assist fugitives accused or convicted of serious crimes to evade the U.S. justice system.”  

Such individuals are subject to the “Fallon Smart Policy.” Immediate family members of such individuals may also be subject to this policy.

This policy is named in honor of Fallon Smart, a 15-year-old who was killed in a hit-and-run incident in 2016. 

The foreign national accused of causing Fallon Smart’s death fled the United States to avoid being tried for manslaughter.

The visa restriction policy announced recently is specific to foreign government officials and agents, and their immediate family members, as described above. 

The decision to impose visa restrictions reflects the commitment of the United States to support aspirations of fair judicial process and strengthen democracy and the rule of law.

 

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It is foolish to despise money. We all work for money. We all want all we honestly earn. 

Money means advantages for ourselves and those we love. 

Of course, there are higher aims in life than money, but to attain those aims we need first to settle the money question intelligently. 

We ought to earn our money honestly, to save it carefully, to spend it prudently, and to invest the surplus wisely so as to insure ourselves against sickness and loss.

If we get the money question straight in our minds it will do much toward realizing our happiness and success.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed