Unnecessary conflict

“People like to say that the conflict is between good and evil. The real conflict is between truth and lies.”

—Don Miguel Ruiz

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

SO many definitions have been submitted for the real meaning of “partners in nation building” but, every now and then, we hear some media, police, and political personalities reciting this familiar line when they want to inspire and involve one another in a common goal and cooperation.

In the absence of—or to resolve—any conflict, it must be emphasized that “partners in nation building” must unite, work and resolve any crisis, and gather their talents and resources together. 

They invoke this popular sentence to hack out a win-win approach and eliminate any antipathy and strife.

Sometimes it refers to tacit obligation of every citizen to abide by the law and order of the nation, as well as perform their duties as a responsible citizen to maintain harmonious co-existence and take the nation forward.

In our own simple and practical definition, public officials—including those in the police and military uniforms—and members of the press are “partners in nation building”, thus they aren’t supposed to treat each other as rivals or enemies.

 

-o0o-

 

Simply put, when media practitioners scrutinize or criticize our public officials and the men and women in military and police uniforms, it is not a direct act of enmity on the part of the press; rather it’s job-related and tantamount to constructive appraisal of the recipients’ performance.

The aim is improvement, transparency, accountability and enhancement of quality of service, not destruction or outright malice to commit slander or any derogatory design.

Severe conflict or embittered quarrel aren’t necessary. In fact, it’s a waste of time and downright counterproductive.

Public office is a public trust. Anyone who occupies a public office must be ready and open to light and even severe criticism from the press. Because they are “partners in nation building”, they can never wish for the downfall and destruction of one another.

For good ideas and true innovation, Margaret Heffernan says we need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.

We don’t need a protracted war or a fencing match in public.

 

-o0o-

 

DESPITE the closure of Black History Month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul assured New Yorkers, including this writer, in an email of protection from hate and discrimination.

Alex, this Black History Month, we took time to celebrate the great Black New Yorkers who shaped our culture, our communities, and our entire country.  

While Black History Month comes to a close today, our fight for equality and justice continues every day of the year. 

Growing up the daughter of social justice activists, my parents taught me to stand up for what you believe in, to support your neighbors, and, above all, to do what’s right. That’s why I’m working to right the wrongs of the past and make sure that every New Yorker has a fair chance to get ahead.   

That means protecting New Yorkers from hate and discrimination — from taking action after a white supremacist with hate in his heart targeted our neighbors at Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, to strengthening our hate crimes laws, to making investments to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable for their actions.   

That means righting the wrongs of the past — from establishing a community commission to explore what reparations could look like in New York State to making historic investments in infrastructure projects that reconnect communities. 

That means leveling the playing field — from eliminating the MWBE backlog and making historic investments in the success of MWBEs, to giving millions a second chance under our Clean Slate Act, to helping families build intergenerational wealth and stay in their communities by fighting deed theft through legislation and this year’s Executive Budget.  

And that means making sure all New Yorkers, regardless of their zip code, can lead safe and healthy lives — from taking nation-leading action to reduce pollution and improve air quality in underserved communities to tackling the maternal and infant mortality crisis.  

In New York, we know that when we take action to lift up our communities, it changes our entire state for the better. 

As Black History Month comes to a close, we are not just honoring the legacy of Black New Yorkers who came before us. We are working to build a brighter future for the New Yorkers of today and of tomorrow. 

Ever Upward, Gov. Kathy Hochul

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

 

 

 

‘Naked apes’ who run for public office and write the constitution

“At twenty a man is a peacock, at thirty a lion, at forty a camel, at fifty a serpent, at sixty a dog, at seventy an ape, at eighty a nothing at all." 

— Baltasar Gracian

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IT depends on our faith, background, and education. But it pays to maintain an open mind. 

A historian, or a not-so-popular book author, has referred to human beings as “naked apes” who can build speed boats and coliseums, write newspaper columns and immortal poetry, and even frame the constitution.

“Naked apes” who fall in love, run for public office, play chess, participate in Olympic Games, read the astronomy, teach in universities, solve complex mathematical and engineering puzzles, and play an active role in advancement of civilization.

I'm referring to Desmond Morris, author of the sensational worldwide bestseller, The Naked Ape, described by Saturday Review as "a startlingly novel idea, brilliantly executed."

No less than Morris himself, formerly the curator of mammals at London Zoo, admits that in dealing with the fundamental problems of the naked ape, he realizes the risk of offending a number of people. 

"There are some who will prefer not to contemplate their animal selves. They may consider that I have degraded our species by discussing it in crude animal terms," writes Morris.

"I can only assure them that this is not my intention. There are others who will resent any zoological invasion of their specialist arena. But I believe that this approach can be of great value and that, whatever its shortcomings, it will throw now (and in some ways unexpected) light on the complex nature if our extraordinary species."

 

-o0o-

 

Morris explains that his book was intended to popularize and demystify science.

"There are one hundred and ninety-three living species of monkeys and apes," Morris alleges. 

"One hundred and ninety-two of them are covered with hair. The exception is a naked ape self-named Homo sapiens. The unusual and highly successful species spends a great deal of time examining his higher motives and an equal amount of time studiously ignoring his fundamental ones. 

“He is proud that he has the biggest brain of all the primates but attempts to conceal the fact that he also has the biggest penis, preferring to accord this honor falsely to the mighty gorilla. He is an intensely vocal, acutely exploratory, over-crowded ape, and it is high time we examined his basic behavior." 

"To read Desmond Morris on the sex habits of the naked ape is disconcerting, to say the least" observes the Saturday Review. "Here the detail is specific and clinical...and the naked ape comes out of it looking very animal indeed...you read on with the mixture of discovery and embarrassment...an enlightening, entertaining, disturbing, discomforting, ego-shrinking experience." 

 

-o0o-

 

The book tells about man as "a creature who can write immortal poetry, raise giant cities, aim for the stars, build an atomic bomb--but he is also an animal, a relative of the apes--a naked ape, in fact."

The Naked Ape, serialized in the Daily Mirror newspaper and has been translated into 23 languages, depicts human behavior as largely evolved to meet the challenges of prehistoric life as a hunter-gatherer (see nature versus nurture). 

The book was so named because out of 193 species of monkeys and apes only man is not covered in hair. 

Morris made a number of claims in the book naming man as "the sexiest primate alive". 

He further claims that our fleshy earlobes, which are unique to humans, are erogenous zones, the stimulation of which can cause orgasm in both males and females. Morris further stated that the more rounded shape of human female breasts means they are mainly a sexual signaling device rather than simply for providing milk for infants.

 

-o0o-

 

He also attempts to frame human behavior in the context of evolution, but his explanations failed to convince academics because they were based on a teleological (goal-oriented) understanding of evolution. For example, Morris wrote that the intense human pair bond evolved so that men who were out hunting could trust that their mates back home were not having sex with other men, and that sparse body hair evolved because the "nakedness" helped intensify pair bonding by increasing tactile pleasure.

Morris criticizes some psychiatrists and psychoanalysts that "have stayed nearer home and have concentrated on clinical studies of mainstream specimens. Much of their earlier material, although not suffering from the weakness of the anthropological information, also has an unfortunate bias." 

Sexually the naked ape finds himself today in a somewhat confusing situation, Morris explains. 

"As a primate he is pulled one way, as a carnivore by adoption he is pulled another, and as a member of an elaborate civilized community he is pulled yet another."

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

Iloilo cops vs gambling lock, stock, and barrel

“Good things happen when you get your priorities straight.”

—Scott Caan

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IT seems the Philippine National Police (PNP) was created only with a priority to eliminate illegal gambling, the prolonged campaign that, so far, has failed miserably.

Ever since the PNP was formed on January 29, 1991, when the Philippine Constabulary (PC) and the Integrated National Police (INP) were merged pursuant to Republic Act 6975 of 1990, all the previous chiefs, from the first director general, Cesar Nazareno, vowed to crush—first and foremost—illegal gambling.

Now under the command of Marcos Jr.-appointed General Benjamin Acorda Jr., the PNP’s battlecry remains the same after 33 years: crackdown against illegal gambling.

As if illegal gambling is the only cancer of society.

What happened to the other crimes or operations against illegal activities and armed groups that are more destructive and dangerous than illegal gambling like illegal drugs, illegal fishing, illegal logging, private army, armed robbery, cybercrimes, gun-for-hires and riding in tandem, illegal recruitment, carjacking, human trafficking, among others?    

Why were’t these crimes mentioned as “top priorities” as well?

 

-o0o-

 

Peace and order campaign in the country surely is not only limited in the war versus illegal gambling. 

But the PNP chain of command under Acorda Jr. appeared to have tasked the country’s entire police force to prioritize illegal gambling, thus we can’t blame Brigadier General Jack Wanky, the newly assumed Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) regional director, for ordering city and provincial police directors to intensify their respective drive against, what else, illegal gambling.

Wanky reportedly directed all city and provincial PNP directors in the region to form task force teams for a focused assignment against unauthorized games in his first media interview on Feb. 26, 2024. 

The creation of task force teams, Wanky said, was one of Acorda Jr’s marching orders to him as the director general wanted Wanky and, perhaps all other regional chiefs in the country, to get rid of illegal gambling “to give way to the small-town lottery (STL).”

The PNP has to make a “bold stand” against unauthorized gambling operations, Wanky said, after STL operators had protested the continued proliferation of “bookies.”

“They will be expecting a lot of operations until such time that this menace will stop. We will not stop until they stop,” Wanky declared, quoted by the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

What is so special with STL over the interests of the public in general?

 

-o0o-

 

INDI dapat mag pangakig kag mag react negatively si Local Government secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. nga daw magua gid siya sa iya ugat sa mga criticism ni Davao City mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte sa palpak nga promisa ni President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. nga panuboon ang presyo sang bugas sa P20 per kilo.

Gin tawag ni Duterte, bata sang anay presidente nga si Rodrigo, nga “greatest scam” sa isa ka rally sa Cebu ang wala natabu nga pagnubo sang presyo sang bugas bisan pa nangin presidente na si Marcos Jr. kay amo gid ini ang iya gin promisa sadtong nagapadalagan sia presidente in 2022.

Pero si Abalos ya daw ma run amok gid. Opinyon lang ina ya ni Baste. Kon wala si Abalos naga pati nga “greatest scam” ang promisa sang iya boss, so be it. Indi niya dapat pag punggan si Baste ukon sin o man nga reklamador kon naga express man lang sang ila balatyagon kay sa matuod lang, wala gid man nag nubo ang bugas sa P20 per kilo.  

Kon nag nubo ang bugas kag nag warak-warak pa si Baste ti sin o ang mahuy an? Si Baste eh. Ti kay matuod gid man nga mahal gihapon ang bugas kundi insakto si Baste. 

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

Danger of making assumptions

“We only see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear. We don’t perceive things the way they are. We have the habit of dreaming with no basis in reality. We literally dream things up in our imaginations. Because we don’t understand something, we make an assumption about the meaning, and when the truth comes out, the bubble of our dream pops and we find out it was not what we thought it was at all.”

--Don Miguel Ruiz 

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE are sharing an ancient Toltec wisdom in a book that offers a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love, as it reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and creates needless suffering.

We normally succumb when communication bogs down, and when we make a mistake of magnifying unimportant happenings into major events that results in sadness and drama.

Author Don Miguel Ruiz warns that “we have the tendency to make assumptions about everything, and the problem with making assumptions is that we believe they are the truth. We could swear they are real,” warns Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom.

We make assumptions about what others are doing and thinking--we take it personally--then we blame them and react by sending emotional poison with our word.

Whenever we make assumptions, we are asking for problems. We make an assumption, we misunderstand, we take it personally, and we end up creating a whole big drama for nothing.

We create a lot of emotional poison just by making assumptions and taking it personally, because usually we start gossiping about our assumptions, Ruiz observes.

 

-o0o-

 

He counsels: “Remember, gossiping is the way we communicate to each other in the dream of hell and transfer poison to one another. Because we are afraid to ask clarifications, we make assumptions, and believe we are right about the assumptions; then we defend our assumptions and try to make someone else wrong.”

The author warns: “It is always better to ask questions than to make an assumption, because assumptions set us up for suffering.”

All the sadness and drama we have lived in our lives was rooted in making assumptions and taking things personally. Our whole dream of hell is based on that.” 

The teachings in the Four Agreements were based on Toltec knowledge, which arises from the same essential unity of truth as all the sacred esoteric foundations found around the world.

The Four Agreements are: 

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

 

-o0o-

 

“Though it is not a religion, it honors all the spiritual masters who have taught on earth,” according to Ruiz. “While it does embrace spirit, it is most accurately described as a way of life, distinguished by the ready accessibility of happiness and love.”

Anthropologists have spoken of the Toltec as a nation or race, but, in fact, Ruiz explains, the Toltec were scientists and artists who formed a society to explore and conserve the spiritual knowledge and practices of the ancient ones.

They came together as masters (naguals) and students at Teotihuacan, the ancient city of pyramids outside Mexico City known as the place where “Man Becomes God.”

Over the millennia, stresses Ruiz, the naguals were forced to conceal the ancestral wisdom and maintain its existence in obscurity. 

“European conquest, coupled with rampant misuse of personal power by a few of the apprentices, made it necessary to shield the knowledge from those who were not prepared to use it wisely or who might intentionally misuse it for personal gain,” points out.

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

Instead nga ‘sue us’ dapat ‘let’s talk’

“In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.”

—Thich Nhat Hanh

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

PERMIT applications for boarding houses in Iloilo City reportedly rose in the month of February 2024 after City Hall initiated a crackdown on unlicensed or unauthorized boarding houses operating in the metropolis.

The inspiring development occurred after a fire that broke out in Barangay San Nicholas, La Paz district claimed two lives on February 18, when City Hall started cracking the whip on negligent boarding house operators.

Good for the city’s boarding house business; good for the revenue on the part of City Hall; good for the reputation and quality of boarding houses, and for safety and protection both of boarding house operators, the boarders, and their neighbors.  

The lightning crackdowns ordered by Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas that resulted in the closure of 40 boarding houses a week later in La Paz alone should have been done on a regular basis because they didn’t have permits, not only because two boarders were killed in the February 18 fire.

If the move to throw the books on colorum boarding houses was only the offshoot of the tragic death of Lyn Rose Sobretodo, 26, and Renz David Aguilar, 21 in the La Paz fire, then people might think City Hall was remiss in its duties and obligations to clamp down on illegal boarding houses.

 

-o0o-

 

Deaths in fire incidents occur for various reasons: lack of exit, cramped spaces, absence of fire extinguishers, overcrowded occupants, houses made of light or dilapidated materials, victims are sleeping, victims are trapped and can’t escape, victims fail to find escape door after being suffocated by thick and poisonous smoke, fire breaks out at night.

When fire engulfs a thickly populated residential area, it doesn’t pick which house to devour when firefighters fail to contain it immediately. 

Fire, if left unattended or uncontrolled, will gut both licensed and unlicensed buildings or business establishments.

Occupants who fail to escape and react belatedly or are incapacitated, will die in a burning place regardless of the structure.

When implementing the law or edict, it should be because there’s a clear and present violation by any erring person or entity. 

It should not be because somebody gets killed first and that there is necessity for that law or edict to be marshaled full-throttle in order to prevent another human casualty.

 

-o0o-

 

KAHAMBOG sang dating ni Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia sang iya gin sabat ang mga kritiko sang pag award nila sang P18-billion automated counting machine (ACM) lease contract sa lone bidder nga Miru Systems.

"Anybody can question our decision before the Supreme Court," siling ni Garcia, anay abogado ni President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. sadtong nag file si Marcos Jr. sang election protest against Leni Robredo in the vice presidential race.

"In the meantime, we will focus now on the drafting of the contract with the joint venture company and ensure that the best interest of the nation is upheld on each and every provision thereof."

Sunu kay Garcia ang Comelec ara na sa “tight schedule” kag naga kinahanglan sang at least anum ka bulan para mag preparar sila sang 110 ACMs nga pagagamiton sa 2025 elections.

"Our timelines are so tight, hence, focus and determination are important. We cannot be disrupted in our preparations for the 2025 electoral exercises no matter how well-meaning the intentions of certain groups or individuals are," gindugang pa ni Garcia.

Tani indi ni Garcia pag himuon nga rason ang “timelines” nila ukon ano man nga palusot para indi pag hatagan sang merit ang pag question sang election watchdog Democracy Watch Philippines sa kapabilidad kag kredibilidad sang Miru Systems. Dapat open si Garcia kag ang Comelec sa mga reklamo or opinyon sang mga concerned citizines. 

Instead nga “sue us” dapat ang itugda ni Garcia or sabat sa mga critics is “let’s sit down and discuss the things you want to clarify or why do you oppose the Miru Systems.”

Daw ka hambog kag ka arogante ang pagsabat sang “sue us” ukon “sigi e akusar ninyo kami.” 

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

Negrense ‘disgusted’ with Philippine corruption takes oath as US citizen

“When I became an American citizen, nothing's changed because I'm still Asian.”

—Jimmy O. Yang

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE problem on graft and corruption in the Philippine government appears to have no solution in sight even if all the future presidents, including President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., will swear to eradicate it if they are elected, lamented a 68-year-old native of Negros Occidental in the Philippines, who became a full-fledged American citizen February 22.

Victor Erasmu Segundino took his oath as U.S. citizen together with more than 50 others at New York’s Federal Plaza in the Lower Manhattan, joining the 83 percent single-race large majority Asian population in the United States.

This population is also the nation’s fastest-growing racial or ethnic group. Between 2000 and 2019, their numbers grew by 81 percent, outpacing a 70 percent increase among Hispanics, according to Pew Research Center.

The Negrense said the main reason why he decided to become a naturalized citizen in a foreign land “is because I’m so disgusted with graft and corruption in (the Philippines) government.” 

“If I go back to my native land and continue to hear and watch privileged politicians committing plunder while the people are dying because of government neglect, it will break my spirit and I might die a broken-hearted person,” warned Segundino, who worked with the Sugar Regulatory Administration (formerly Philippine Sugar Commission) from 1983-2005.  

Waxing poetic, Segundino believes if no one is stealing in government, “the life of the Filipinos will improve a lot and the country will gain more economic opportunities because more foreign investments will pour in.”

 

-o0o-

 

“After (former President Ferdinand) Marcos Sr. was deposed in 1986, I started hoping that one day graft and corruption and plunder will stop when new and principled leaders take over,” sighed Segundino, a former resident of Mansilingan, Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, who is now based in New York City.

“But I was wrong. Graft and corruption even worsened from the administrations of (Fidel) Ramos, (Joseph) Estrada, (Gloria) Arroyo, and (Rodrigo) Duterte.”

Segundino said he observed that “only (the late former President “Noynoy” Benigno III) Aquino was (considered to be) honest and did not steal from government.”   

He blamed the “massive” graft and corruption, plunder, and election of incompetent and unscrupulous people in the Senate and House of Representatives to be the reason why there is massive poverty in the Philippines.

“Every now and then I watched on Youtube with dismay that many Filipinos living in the hinterlands and faraway rural areas still don’t have the basic needs like shelter, clothing, food,” he lamented.

“They don’t have access to potable water, farm-to-market roads, basic health services, education and they live a deplorable life. Where is the government? On the other hand, we see government officials enriching themselves and stealing millions of pesos from the taxpayers.”

 

-o0o-

The Philippines is perceived to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Of 180 countries, the Philippines ranked 116 in terms of being least corrupt, according to analyst Raymond Abrea. 

This means that the country is almost on the top one-third of the most corrupt countries, based on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by Transparency International.

Quoting statistics from CPI, Abrea said the Philippines scored a total of 33 points out of 100. Even as far back as 2012, it has fluctuated around the same CPI score, with the highest score being 38 points in 2014 and the lowest being 33 points in 2021 and 2022. 

To further contextualize how low it scored, the regional average CPI score for the Asia-Pacific region is 45, with zero as highly corrupt. And of the 31 countries and territories in the region, the Philippines placed 22nd (tied with Mongolia), concluded Abrea.

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

 

 

Why libel case vs members of press is no longer relevant

“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

—George Washington

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

ILOILO journalists may have topped the list of media practitioners in the Philippines with the greatest number of mug shots taken on record as accused in a criminal case called libel.

Although the conviction rate is negligible, many aggrieved public officials still opted to sue journalists who “offended” them for libel even after the restoration of democracy in the Philippines after the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

Libel cases versus media practitioners were relatively scant or even zero during the Martial Law years because, in the first place, there was no reporter to sue: press freedom was dead. 

The brave ones went to the calaboose, while the few unlucky souls who defied the dictator went straight to the Kingdom Come.   

After the EDSA uprising, the years when I became seriously involved in community journalism, we monitored some high-profile cases involving media executives sued by bigwigs in government, but majority of the cases that sprung up mostly in other regions outside Metro Manila involved the rank-and-file—reporters and columnists—who were mostly incapacitated financially due to the profession’s limited economic resources.

 

-o0o-

 

The late Panay News founder and publisher Daniel Fajardo and now The Daily Guardian columnist Herbert Vego, the late columnists Teddy Sumaray and Ben Palma were among the only few senior colleagues in the print media I could remember back in the late 80s and early 90s who regularly wrestled with libel cases. 

We had 38 counts of wrongly and unethically assembled libel cases filed by a group of misfits who happened to be local politicians in 1999 when we were with Sun.Star Iloilo.

Meanwhile, some of those rank-and-file reporters quickly “abandoned” the profession for another job after experiencing scary moments as one-time accused in a criminal libel case “versus the people of the Philippines.”

Aggrieved public officials, police and military officials who couldn’t tolerate media bashing thought it would serve them best if they hauled into court the adversarial journalists. 

A libel case, after all, is considered to be “more democratic” and less harmful; a more rationale option for onion-skinned public and military officials instead of resorting to violence with the use of brute force. 

 

-o0o-

 

Times have passed and a libel case as a form of retaliatory offensive for erring public officials versus members of the critical press has become irrelevant and outmoded especially in the age of social media. 

Our former print media colleague, Manuel Mejorada, who dabbled into vlogging, was convicted of cyber-libel, a new animal in the statute two years ago, and is still serving his prison term as of this writing (we hope he will be released soon).

The Philippines is one of the countries that criminalized cyber-libel, a term used when someone has posted or emailed something that is untrue and damaging about someone else on the Internet, including in message boards, bulletin boards, blogs, chat rooms, personal websites, social media, social networking sites, or other published articles.

Enemies of press freedom have found a new weapon to torment members or non-members of the Fourth Estate in cyber-libel. 

Many of them have steered clear of the traditional libel, the publication of false statements that damage someone's reputation. It is also referred to as defamation. An opinion is not libel. Libel refers to specific facts that can be proven untrue.

DepEd Regional Director Ramir Uytico’s fireworks against the RMN-Iloilo anchormen are expected to nosedive because they lack not only the corporeality but the absolute proof of malice beyond reasonable doubt and, therefore, not home runs.  

 

-o0o-

 

I have received an advisory from my health provider, EmblemHealth, about knowing the signs of heart attack and stroke.

Cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes, kills two people each minute in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Know the warning signs of these diseases for American Heart Month. Both can cause permanent damage if not treated immediately.

What to look for: Heart attack symptoms. Symptoms like chest pain, heartburn, and shortness of breath are common. However, according to the CDC, one in five heart attacks are silent, where the patient may have less recognizable symptoms. 

A heart attack can also cause cold sweats, fatigue, lightheadedness, nausea, and pain in the shoulder, arm, back, neck, jaw, and teeth, typically on the left side of the body.

Women can experience heart attack symptoms differently than men. Learn more about why women of color are at higher risk for heart disease. 

Any pain you’re unsure about, such as a brief or sharp pain in the neck, arm or back, should be checked out by a doctor immediately.

What to look for: Stroke symptoms. A stoke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked. The FAST acronym can help you screen for a stroke, by checking a person’s Face, Arms, and Speech, and reacting in Time.

A stroke can cause issues with balance, dizziness, confusion, difficulty understanding words, and trouble seeing. Numbness or weakness on one side of the body can occur in either the face, arms, or legs. 

A sudden, severe “thunderclap” headache with no cause can also be a sign of a stroke.

“If you have these symptoms, call 911 immediately for medical attention. According to the CDC, the first three hours after a stroke are critical to get treatment,” advised the EmblemHealth.

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

Suing Iloilo anchormen for libel while Jo Koy, Taylor Swift entertain the world

“When the public's right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press are at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered.”

—Christopher Dodd

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

RMN Iloilo anchormen sued for libel by Department of Education (DepEd-6) Regional Director Ramir Uytico received unprecedented moral back up from no less than Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas and City Councilor Ely Estante, among other local supporters who disagreed with Uytico’s unpopular move.

At the rate the ruckus’ popularity escalates, we won’t be surprised if even some of Uytico’s office personnel will also sneer at the attempt to muzzle the freedom of the press and expression. 

In my opinion, Uytico’s beef against broadcasters Henry Lumawag, Novie Guazo, Regan Arlos, and Israel Vincent “Don” Dolido isn’t worth a minute in the court room if it emanated from a harsh criticism based on Uytico’s function as a public official. 

Press freedom, according to Thomas Jefferson, is better abused than curtailed. 

A public official like Uytico can’t claim immunity from media attacks for it’s the media’s primordial duty to scrutinize Uytico, et al and—to some extent—make him mad as a public official.

If Uytico, et al are mad, that means Messrs. Lumawag, Guazo, Arlos, and Dolido are doing their job—and are contributing something positive for democracy.

 

-o0o-

 

If they are very mad, they forget the fundamental reality: they aren’t employed in private companies and, thus, they need to get out of the kitchen because they can’t stand the heat of public debate and democratic conversation.

In this age of social media, Jo Koy, Taylor Swift, Alexa and Siri, you still have time to sue for libel against crusading broadcast journalists? In terms of genuine public service, it’s a titanic leap backward. 

Whatever the genesis of the Uytico-RMN tiff, we leave the matter for the prosecutor’s office to decide, but we can’t help but express our 25-centavo worth of sentiment as a community journalist and as a “survivor” of 38 counts of libel cases (the highest number for any local journalist in the country in 1999): the case or cases won’t prosper—with due respect to the prosecutors handling the case or cases.

A libel case filed against the Fourth Estate will leave a distasteful mark in the public official’s career and reputation and smear his legacy.  

 

-o0o-

 

EVEN if we didn’t hit her office order directly, then Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS)—now Department of Education (DepEd)—Regional Director Pilar Pascual was reportedly upset that we criticized the way the office order was circulated—or “not circulated” to the intended parties. 

In her Regional Order No. 7 dated March 9, 1998, Pascual mandated all school division superintendents, administrators, principals of schools under DECS to comply with Department Order No. 66 series of 1997 to acquire the uniforms in one form, cloth pattern and color tones as prescribed on the issuance.

“In order to get the same quality nearest to the authentic original entry of the required gala set, the complete uniform sets produced by Elizabeth Hammonds is recommended,” stated Pascual’s Regional Order No. 7.

According to the Order, Hammond’s “volume production for the four complete sets are (sic) made of textile material, which is durable, wrinkle free, soft, heavy draped, and ‘wash and wear’ kind, the same as one used for the original winning gala design sample.”

 

-o0o-

 

The Order added: “With the 1997 clothing allowance allocated and received last year and the 1998 clothing allowance which is expected to be released soon, the amount is sufficient to buy the materials. The budget required to purchase the four sets of ready-to-wear uniforms is P3,450 for the teaching group and P3,550 for non-teaching group, while the pre-cuts clothing materials with complete accessories will cost P2,700 for the teaching group and P2,800 for non-teaching group considering the difference for materials used.”   

To make the long story short, several teachers in Iloilo reportedly used their clothing allowances to purchase sub-standard uniforms from unaccredited suppliers after Pascual’s Order failed to reach them. 

Some school superintendents, in cahoots with unscrupulous suppliers, allegedly “blind-sided” some of them into purchasing uniforms not prescribed in Department Order No. 66.

School teachers duped into buying substandard uniforms were hard-pressed to produce their uniforms as the Order mandated them to “acquire all four sets not later than the opening of classes in June 1998.” 

Did some DECS officials make monkey business and earn millions of kickbacks?

That’s the main meat of the matter and Pascual wasn’t supposed to be piqued with our series of critical stories in the Sun.Star Iloilo if she was in good faith.

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

Wracked with self pity

“I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me.”

—Psalm 69:2

 

By Alex P. Vidal

  

IF we are in a high-maintenance relationship, this subject matter might give us interest and curiosity. Dealing with martyrs was recently cited in the survey as the second most difficult relationship.

"We all have days when we feel a bit like a martyr, days when self-pity descends on us," writes psychology professor, Dr. Les Parrot III of the Center for Relationship Development at Seattle Pacific University. 

"For most people, self-pity is fleeting, a reminder that life isn't always fair."

Parrot explains in his book, High-Maintenance Relationship, that for most people self-pity can be like an infection. If it's not caught early and treated aggressively, he said, "it can become chronic, leading to people to feel continually like victims."

Such is the case for martyrs, Parrot reveals. They can be knocked over by the tiniest difficulties--a burned dinner, a lonely weekend, a traffic jam--and show little interest in getting up. Like flowers flattened by a strong wind, martyrs stay down.

 

-o0o-

 

"Hopelessly and helplessly, they give in to real and imagined unfairness and refuse the helping hand of a friend: 'Oh, don't worry about me. I'm fine,' or 'You don't have time for my troubles. You just go ahead.' Martyrs feel spurned by the world. They often refuse help and are burned at their own stake," adds the fellow in medical psychology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

According to Parrot, "it doesn't take much to become a Joan of Arc. Mothers can overburden themselves with household chores, then say, 'No one really cares about me. As far as my family is concerned, I'm just a slave.'" 

Fathers can use the same approach: "I work my fingers to the bone, and no one cares. Everyone uses me."

The ordained minister of the Church of the Nazarene cites the case of Vicky as a typical martyr. With her soft-spoken manner you barely notice she is in the room. She suffers from excruciating back pain, and at times she barely sits up for more than five minutes at a stretch. But she refuses a friend's offer to clean her apartment and cook dinner. "I've got to manage alone," Vicky says, "because I can't expect someone else to be here every minute of every day."

 

-o0o-

 

Vicky refuses help but feels all the more persecuted when her friends don't stop by. Like every other martyr, explained Parrot, Vicky wallows in self-pity. It has become so insidious to her soul that she is all but entrapped. Her friends fear she will never emerge to live a fun, contented life. And her woeful existence is becoming increasingly exhausting for even her family members and most dedicated companions.

"If you have martyrs in your life, you have seen firsthand how their wallowing can go on and on. Solutions to their problems, no matter how powerful, can't seem to penetrate their complaining," Parrot stresses. "Martyrs are locked tight in a victim chambers. But that doesn't mean you need to suffer too. You can use several effective strategies for living and working with confirmed martyrs, even when they refuse to be rescued."

Unfortunately, martyrs are all too prevalent in our society, warned Parrot. 

"Turn on any morning or afternoon talk show, and you will see people who are stuck in a bad marriage or who are too fat or too miserable to deal with life. You will also hear them blame their parents, their schooling, their income, their siblings, their friends, their church, their government, and, of course, themselves. What dynamics do martyrs have in common? They are defeated, passive, self-blaming, helpless, irrational, broody, and worrisome."

 

-o0o-

 

DEFEATED. "Everyone whines a little in response to life's small irritations: you have na acne outbreak at the worst time; you lose your keys; you get stood up for an appointment," continues Parrot. "Who wouldn't feel a little defeated? But most of us are able to stop feeling negative, recover our equilibrium, and get on with living. Not so for martyrs. They give up quickly and suffer long-lasting defeat."

PASSIVE. If one were to coin a battle cry for martyrs, the author said, it would be "I can't!" I can't lose weight. I can't get a promotion. I can't change. I can't meet new friends. Martyrs make little effort to rally against downbeat thoughts, Parrot observes. "And rarely do they ask for or accept help, even--or especially--when that help is freely and lovingly offered. Martyrs may desperately need help, but they will rebuff a gesture of caring."

SELF-BLAMING. In his book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Rabbi Harold Kushner tells of paying condolence calls on the families of two women who died of natural causes. At the first home, the son of the deceased woman told the rabbi: "If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold, she would be alive today. It's my fault she died." At the second home, the son told the rabbi: "If only i hadn't insisted on my mother's going to Florida, she would be alive today. it's my fault that she's dead." Parrot says martyrs, like these sons, are often addicted to self-blame.

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