tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78143057370927288562024-03-29T07:02:33.915-04:00ALEX P. VIDAL"I have not learned anything from anybody who agreed with me."Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.comBlogger3208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-37862119342972286102024-03-28T09:14:00.003-04:002024-03-28T09:15:18.549-04:00Coronavirus who<p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIeXEJqAYRwugji4yUkpdk7caNqMMi49N1EgbcqXVxND1_VAtLBbelX_t7rvEUTwbk65SlbjMz7ngF3tLhVR_WvnzEOSb4gHu5kMeJiFUFfagRC1dw0mn9zkzbqWSX0AXWTwMnHBrZgpCrpNsWvLOA3l6c7Zw-i6UUSiLTVj36zn5lPvUzGgHONsdjZ8/s502/IMG_1332.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="352" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIeXEJqAYRwugji4yUkpdk7caNqMMi49N1EgbcqXVxND1_VAtLBbelX_t7rvEUTwbk65SlbjMz7ngF3tLhVR_WvnzEOSb4gHu5kMeJiFUFfagRC1dw0mn9zkzbqWSX0AXWTwMnHBrZgpCrpNsWvLOA3l6c7Zw-i6UUSiLTVj36zn5lPvUzGgHONsdjZ8/s320/IMG_1332.jpeg" width="224" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>By Alex P. Vidal</b> </span><b><br /></b></span><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Who are you</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Where did you come from</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Why did you make my body suffer</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Why did you terrorize my friends</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Why do you want me to die</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Who sent you to torment us</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>If you are a crown where is your kingdom</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>If you are a virus what is your purpose </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>How far can you make us suffer</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>How soon can you stop wreaking havoc on our populace</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Now that you have made your presence felt with enormous catastrophe,</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Will you please walk away from our life now and set us free </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>(Original poem written by Alex P. Vidal copyright 2020)</i></span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-31879354577333078402024-03-28T09:02:00.000-04:002024-03-28T09:02:05.305-04:00Loyalty to faith, church<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Y9E3v1L3phy9QYYX-2B9zM5uVyKcToHSkjzuPjkRZ-tlfNSsiptp5aIEAQge39SMeo_CE0XDElqQxhgD7mNFx97YD3QsvKzSxqVCJM6EHSPEo7G6RK7cqEbfoi34Ds7k99czObt_aW-SlLPZoAr8maiV284a9pl-yrLADqBLotM561DoXSr3gbO6CH4/s538/IMG_3446.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="249" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Y9E3v1L3phy9QYYX-2B9zM5uVyKcToHSkjzuPjkRZ-tlfNSsiptp5aIEAQge39SMeo_CE0XDElqQxhgD7mNFx97YD3QsvKzSxqVCJM6EHSPEo7G6RK7cqEbfoi34Ds7k99czObt_aW-SlLPZoAr8maiV284a9pl-yrLADqBLotM561DoXSr3gbO6CH4/s320/IMG_3446.jpeg" width="148" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i>“Of all losses, time is the most irrecuperable for it can never be redeemed.” </i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">― KING HENRY VIII</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">AS Sir Thomas More refuses to recognize Henry VIII’s divorce and ascendancy as Supreme Head of the new Church of England, A Man for All Seasons reveals the risk of speaking truth to power and the clash that follows when fierce political will collides with deep moral conviction.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">This royal adviser is already refusing to help Cardinal Wolsey pressure the Catholic Church into granting King Henry VIII a divorce. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">When Wolsey dies, More becomes Henry's new Chancellor--even though he's even less willing to help the king secure a divorce than Wolsey was.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">The king visits More and isn't psyched when More demonstrates his unwillingness to break with the Church. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Meanwhile, a sniveling upstart named Richard Rich (not to be confused with Richie Rich) is considering trying to help the shrewd adviser, Thomas Cromwell, in bringing More down.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">DRAMA</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">When Henry decides to leave the Catholic Church in order to get his divorce, remarry, and form his own church, More won't go with him. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">He resigns his post as Chancellor, which passes to his devious rival, Cromwell. When More refuses to sign an oath swearing that the king is now the head of the Church--while otherwise remaining silent--Cromwell goes after him.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">More is imprisoned for high treason and interrogated by Cromwell and More's old friend, the Duke of Norfolk. But neither Norfolk nor More's own loving family members can convince him to sign the oath.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Finally, More is charged with treason in court, where he has to defend himself against Cromwell's arguments. He seems to be doing pretty well in his own defense.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Richard Rich lies, claiming that More openly contested the king's supremacy over the Church in conversation. More's fate is sealed: he'll be put to death. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Now free to speak, he eloquently denounces the act of Parliament that authorized the split with the Catholic Church.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Finally, More is executed by beheading, and he submits to his death peacefully and bravely, confident God will accept him. A voiceover at the end explains that More's rival Cromwell was later executed for treason, too--although his greatest betrayer, Richard Rich, died in bed of natural causes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">So that's anticlimactic.#</span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-12526985072083075852024-03-28T08:50:00.003-04:002024-03-28T08:51:48.324-04:00Alex P. Vidal Quotes #alexpvidalquotes <p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMi4ePxl768ILWUu92NmzbSytWnP7DFYRFyadWAIP5hODFbodvR7EFcEXK9whh8zD9I_eMFpZHt5g4mT-KRoQEiVYWz-09wR1yJm4c6ZloEGUCImLeXLslmvHSwU7tbyb074Vuyg_8ZJ9C9MuH4ObqGYe5qDrMrIPm-YN72FA9rgaxbgC2YdRp5xvUeY/s960/IMG_1323.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="734" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMi4ePxl768ILWUu92NmzbSytWnP7DFYRFyadWAIP5hODFbodvR7EFcEXK9whh8zD9I_eMFpZHt5g4mT-KRoQEiVYWz-09wR1yJm4c6ZloEGUCImLeXLslmvHSwU7tbyb074Vuyg_8ZJ9C9MuH4ObqGYe5qDrMrIPm-YN72FA9rgaxbgC2YdRp5xvUeY/s320/IMG_1323.jpeg" width="245" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>Don't force someone to remember you all the time. Just stay silent let them realize how they will be without you in their life.</i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;">--ANONYMOUS :</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;"><i>When friends forget us, we shouldn’t magnify it into a major event. Memories malfunction from time to time. Genuine relationships need empirical evidence. It’s human nature if someone ignores us during normal times, and remembers us (when they are) in crisis and in deep shit.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-large;">--ALEX P. VIDAL #alexpvidalquotes</span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-84858853349276902022024-03-26T17:30:00.002-04:002024-03-26T17:30:32.783-04:00‘Sleepless in Dhaka’<p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_ayRCaw1OvkAmBQFNbhERBWreNi28I30MwaxtGthSDkWZO4qQBrdGIqiDtIE26dwvuBh3y2Yt8tgtbML5pGIoXP3HmGfUUGDCGEZsX4ULKzGPdL689FcWXeP19l_zmPqklkMPujRyZQY3EyA1fcdLDyNnSTaI0InjePl8_Eqeuyc-tNSuxgaSDE26yE/s1985/IMG_3455.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1249" data-original-width="1985" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_ayRCaw1OvkAmBQFNbhERBWreNi28I30MwaxtGthSDkWZO4qQBrdGIqiDtIE26dwvuBh3y2Yt8tgtbML5pGIoXP3HmGfUUGDCGEZsX4ULKzGPdL689FcWXeP19l_zmPqklkMPujRyZQY3EyA1fcdLDyNnSTaI0InjePl8_Eqeuyc-tNSuxgaSDE26yE/w640-h402/IMG_3455.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">—Socrates<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">By Alex P. Vidal<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">IN the course of his journey to ambassadorship, Ilonggo poet and respected lawyer-writer Leo Tito Ausan Jr. have come across countless quotes, “but only one has so leechlikely stuck in my mind,” wrote Ambassador Ausan Jr.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“It is that which is popularly attributed to the Cuban Poet and Freedom fighter, Jose Marti, that ‘if a man would like to leave a mark in this world, he needs to do at least three things: 1. plant a tree; 2. have a son; and 3. write a book’, hence today (March 25), I, celebrate and profusely thank the Lord God, our Creator, for blessing me with a good life that enabled me to realize these three during my lifetime.” While in college in 1992, Ausan Jr. disclosed “He enabled me to plant giant ipil-ipil trees in Guimaras island at the farm of erstwhile Hon. City Judge Leonardo Lozano; in 1987, He blessed my marriage to Agnes Brazas-to whom I dedicate the book, with a son, Carlyle Leo, Latte ChoCo, Clark's Dad and today, in the year 2024 a publishing press in Bangladesh delivered to me the first 100 copies of my first book, entitled ‘Sleepless in Dhaka & Other Poems’ a compilation of my poetry written in and inspired by Bangladesh.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><br />In Ausan Jr.’s “humble gift to salute and honor Bangladesh and her lovely people, who are marking National Genocide Day and will be marking their 54th Independence Day tomorrow (March 26)!! Joi Bangla!!, In mid-April I shall, of course, be formally launching this book in an event, bigger than this post, for the purpose.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Ausan Jr. wrote: “Meanwhile, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my most esteemed Bangla dual foreword writers, Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary), Masud bin Momen and Consul General in New York, USA, Najmul Huda,, for sharing their kind and inspirational insights on the book....THANK YOU DEAR LORD, FOR A LIFE THAT LEAVES AN INDELIBLE MARK...., may YOU keep on being kind to me as I continue to plod on, in the service of my Motherland and our People, in this part of the world, this I pray, through Christ our Lord Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit as a triune Divine, Amen.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">1. SLEEPLESS IN DHAKA<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">IO, Dhaka, cradle of, Ahsan Manzil,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">What’s this in me, that for thee, I feel?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Just when I thought, as a stoic diplomat, I can’t fall into this, and never will...<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">II<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">O. Dhaka, this all started on 21st March, a year ago, if thee will,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">After I presented my letters of credence, at the Bangabhaban, to His Excellency, President Mhd. Abdul Hamid,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When in gracious accord, with Protocol’s courtesy to No. 32 Danmhondi, a brief visit I unexpectedly made.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">III<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">O, Dhaka, on foot, I apprised myself with every nook and cranny of the Crime Scene, at the historic place,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Including the Sadat gifted, Holy Quran, that quietly perched on a book stand at Mujib’s Study, and the bullet hole-ridden staircase,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Where, Sheikh Mujib, the Father of thy Nation, fell and was brutally murdered years ago, so that his killers’ Master, or so he thought, can be at peace.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">IV<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">O, Dhaka, since, then, I never again became, the same old me, And perhaps, I again, never, will ever be...<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">For from then on, poetry, gushed from me, profusely,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Slumber in the night, I can ‘t anymore do, as easily.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">VUntil on my tablet, I’ve written down, the poem that during the day, has in one fell swoop struck me...<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Your gruesome history has shocked and amazed me,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Thenceforth, struggling hard, I’ve been, sleepless for thee,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">VI<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It can only be, that I’m already in love with thee..!!!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Just to get my much needed sleep, simply can’t be.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">O, Dhaka, because from the sky of thy forehead, you’ve transplanted on a fluttering green flag,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Your blazing sun and blood red teep...<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">While your nose pin, you’ve dispatched to glitter like stars in thy nightsky,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">That’s cold, dark, and deep...<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But each and every morning, thy beauty, and historic splendor,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Through thy saree, and warm embroidered dupatta, peep!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">While THROUGHOUT, the night before, Sleepless in Dhaka, the aging me, they keep!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(Inspiration: the impending possibility of publication of this Compilation, from 1:45 am of 03 February 2024 to 2:45 of 07 February 2024, My Baridhara Residence.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-35264103817113892392024-03-25T11:22:00.002-04:002024-03-25T11:22:22.580-04:00 Grafters can repent not only in Holy Week<p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Cu8iNpTpWTtbSgwcX6YRtrWWvnIOJiUHIeUTIotkaJjNIYrsWmS9NWIMZiLXOlYVn6mLhXFD93t_yRR5SUlEGR9QQG9ehA2vogaDV14RPk_EDfJs3_ld4jJz8k7IWxt8fSWmlgVTz-ALIM9dNpZVwkS7ohSlM0xdqfA5gvVbWjiZhzZQD7BG9Tzim9A/s448/IMG_1621.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="387" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Cu8iNpTpWTtbSgwcX6YRtrWWvnIOJiUHIeUTIotkaJjNIYrsWmS9NWIMZiLXOlYVn6mLhXFD93t_yRR5SUlEGR9QQG9ehA2vogaDV14RPk_EDfJs3_ld4jJz8k7IWxt8fSWmlgVTz-ALIM9dNpZVwkS7ohSlM0xdqfA5gvVbWjiZhzZQD7BG9Tzim9A/s320/IMG_1621.jpeg" width="276" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br />“The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy. The repentance of a hypocrite is itself hypocrisy.”</i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— William Hazlitt</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">GRAFTERS in government as well as thieves, dishonest individuals, philanderers, and scam artists in society should not wait for the Holy Week to repent for their sins.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">All of us sinners can actually begin the repentance process in normal weeks—even without the traditional special solemnity as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Some of us, however, will learn to repent only after we have been caught, hauled in court, and convicted in the bar of justice. Inside the jail, we make amends for our sins and serve our sentences just the same. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When Jesus started His public ministry, He also called for repentance. Matthew 4:17 records, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Jesus says of repentance, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In Mark 6:12, the disciples also “went out and preached that people should repent.” This preaching continued in Acts. Peter preached to Jews, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Paul preached to Gentiles, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). And later he testified, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:21). And, similarly, “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As demonstrated in the passages above, repentance is an important part of an initial response to the gospel, but it is also an important part of the life of the Christian. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Writing to the church at Corinth, Paul says, “Now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended” (2 Corinthians 7:9). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">To the church at Ephesus, Jesus says, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:5).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">DIVIDED PEOPLE. Politics has divided the nation and will further exacerbate the tension and wrangling among political rivals now that the campaign period for the next election is coming next. More friendships will be shattered before and after the elections. Sad but true.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">FILTER IT AWAY. The human body requires at least 1 gallon of water a day. If we are considering stocking up on emergency supplies, let's bear in mind that plastic bottles are thought to leach chemicals into the water if left for a length of time. Let's save space and the environment by stocking up on water filters instead.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">WELCOME THE WIND. Many products can cause air pollution to build up in our home, including modern cleaners, which contain strong chemicals. Let's make sure to ventilate our home well, ensuring a through-flow of air to help reduce pollution levels and encourage good ventilation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-32487088153018822062024-03-24T12:49:00.007-04:002024-03-24T12:49:34.017-04:00 ‘Human nature’ to blame for male supremacy?<p><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYKbGpOqvvv9XBVzMYLxFc3Zwjonk0Hw1IOXiHuhDzrIDObShzu3XTeadNYWE6YFl3ziaeVykTFSNeYjbm7-u3U2C3008_-YUfiwHL_CedNbFwMz3EeUXD0ihON4m9T-3OP9q2ymDnM7gdxyezEL2dneHxXh2Darkuy-lL6upHXagb83JW9pnrAPins4/s448/IMG_1621.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="387" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYKbGpOqvvv9XBVzMYLxFc3Zwjonk0Hw1IOXiHuhDzrIDObShzu3XTeadNYWE6YFl3ziaeVykTFSNeYjbm7-u3U2C3008_-YUfiwHL_CedNbFwMz3EeUXD0ihON4m9T-3OP9q2ymDnM7gdxyezEL2dneHxXh2Darkuy-lL6upHXagb83JW9pnrAPins4/s320/IMG_1621.jpeg" width="276" /></a></span></i></div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br />"The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is 'What does a woman want?'" </span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">-- Sigmund Freud</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The research made for over 20 years by Evelyn Reed (1905-1979) on Woman’s Evolution, the book dubbed as “an impressive and absorbing reconstruction of human history” by Sociology, will give us a profound understanding why she became a veteran socialist.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Reed takes us on a million-year expedition through prehistory from cannibalism to culture and covers the world of the ancient matriarchy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Tracing the origins of the “incest taboo,” blood rites, marriage, and the family, she reveals the leading role women once played. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">By pinpointing the relatively recent factors that led to patriarchal domination, she offers a fresh insight into the issues raised by today’s feminist movement—and refutes the myth that “human nature” is to blame for the male supremacy, greed, wars, and inequalities of modern society.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">According to Reed, the early history of half the human species—womankind—has largely been hidden from view. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“To bring it to light requires a reinvestigation of anthropology, where the role and accomplishments of women in prehistoric society are buried,” she explains. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Her book is a contribution to unveiling that remarkable record.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">RESURGENCE<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She stresses that the resurgence of the women’s liberation movement in the 70’s has thrown the spotlight on certain dubious assumptions and disputed questions regarding the past. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Foremost among these is the subject of the matriarchy. Reed asks, “Was there a period in history when women held a highly esteemed and influential place? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">If so, how did they lose their social eminence and become the subordinate sex in patriarchal society? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Or is the matriarchy, as some say, a myth that has no historical basis?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She contends that the matriarchy is one of the most hotly contested issues in a hundred-year controversy between contending schools in anthropology. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Reed’s book affirms that the maternal clan system was the original form of social organization and explains why. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It also traces the course of its development and the causes of its downfall. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Such partisanship on the side of the matriarchy would alone make her book controversial. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But it contains other challenges to long-held opinions on prehistoric society.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“Disagreements are to be expected in a field that covers so vast a stretch of human evolution, extending from the birth of our species to the threshold of civilization, and where the available data derived from biology, archeology, and anthropology is fragmentary and uncoordinated,” Reed writes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">SCIENCE<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Anthropology was founded as a distinct science in the middle of the 19th century. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Most of the founding fathers (women entered the profession only later) had an evolutionary approach. Reed says Morgan, Taylor, and other pioneers regarded anthropology as the study of the origin of society and the material forces at work in its progress. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">They made brilliant beginnings in illuminating the main stages in human development.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Reed says Morgan delineated three great epochs of social evolution—from savagery through barbarism to civilization. Each was marked off by decisive advances in the level of economic activity. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The most rudimentary stage, savagery, was based on hunting and food-gathering. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Barbarism began with food production through agriculture and stock-raising. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Civilization crowned the development of the ancient world by bringing it to the point of commodity production and exchange.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">These three epochs, she explains, were of extremely unequal duration. Savagery is sometimes differentiated into an earlier “primeval” and a later “primitive” stage, both of these rested upon a hunting and gathering economy. Savagery had a span of million-odd years, comprising more than 99 percent of human existence. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Barbarism began about 8,000 years ago; civilization only three thousand years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">SAVAGE<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The early investigators of savage society, to their own surprise, came upon a social structure totally different from ours, adds Reed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“They found a clan and tribal system based on material kinship and in which women played a leading role,” she elaborates. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“This stood out in sharp contrast with modern society which features the father-family and male supremacy. Although they were unable to tell how far back the maternal system went, we propose to show that it dates from the beginning of humankind.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">They made other astonishing discoveries. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">They observed that savage society had egalitarian social and sexual relations, arising from collective production and communal possession of property.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Reed says these features too were at odds with modern society, based on private property and class divisions. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Thus the maternal clan system, which gave an honored place to women, was also a collectivist order where the members of both sexes enjoyed equality and did not suffer oppression or discrimination.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“Subsequently, these discoveries evoked doubts and resistance from the schools of anthropology that became dominant in the 20th century,” Reed points out. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“There arose a deep division between evolutionists and anti-evolutionists that has persisted to the present day. It is only through the evolutionary approach, however, that the concealed history of women –and of men—can be uncovered.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">UNIVERSAL<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The principle of universal evolution had already been applied to the problem of the genesis of Homo sapiens with the publication in 1871 of Charles Darwin’s book The Descent of Man.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">After he demonstrated that the earliest sub-humans, the hominoids, arose out of the anthropoids, the question was posed: How did this transformation come out? In the following decades, biology, archeology, paleontology, and anthropology jointly assisted in the detective work required to clarify this problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Reed’s book adheres to the evolutionary and materialist method in utilizing these findings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It also presents a new theory about totemism and taboo, among the most enigmatic institutions of primeval and primitive society. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Anthropologists of all persuasions have held the view that the ancient taboo on sexual intercourse with certain relatives, like our own taboo, arose out of a universal fear of incest. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Reed’s book challenges that assumption. The ancient taboo existed—but it was primarily directed against the perils of cannibalism in the hunting epoch.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">THEORY<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Reed says the elimination of the theory of a universal incest taboo removes one of the most serious obstacles to understanding other savage institutions, such as the classificatory system of kinship, exogamy and endogamy, segregation of the sexes, rules of avoidance, blood revenge, the gift-exchange system, and the dual organization of the tribe. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It clears the way toward an understanding of how society arose--and why it arose in no other from than the material clan system or matriarchy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“The question of the matriarchy is decisive in establishing whether or not the modern father-family has always existed. The very structure of the material clan system precluded it,” Reed explains. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“Instead of being the basic social unit from time immemorial, as most anthropologists contend, it is a late arrival in history, appearing only at the beginning of the civilized epoch.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-21125542471174191342024-03-24T11:59:00.002-04:002024-03-24T11:59:27.680-04:00Words of sympathy and condemnation no effect<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbR4sJaApAZBb_8ChpFpTDYMh58NhwuEWCvSvm9ApfmTvG1kPpBWGlXutyYKF7FgLwp9grkqbp6WKOwfhkK5p1rnf2qrSyrAKwZ-xO55HdMQBxNal0AwLVptX5W9gPyAiqT9r2VL_2jXNazf6_SVpbPNvx_zyX2orZAqyHCCIf1wu1BOYpYxulGg0voyM/s1436/IMG_3430.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="887" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbR4sJaApAZBb_8ChpFpTDYMh58NhwuEWCvSvm9ApfmTvG1kPpBWGlXutyYKF7FgLwp9grkqbp6WKOwfhkK5p1rnf2qrSyrAKwZ-xO55HdMQBxNal0AwLVptX5W9gPyAiqT9r2VL_2jXNazf6_SVpbPNvx_zyX2orZAqyHCCIf1wu1BOYpYxulGg0voyM/s320/IMG_3430.jpeg" width="198" /></a></i></div><i><span style="color: #313131;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">“The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”</span></span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— Abraham Lincoln</span><span style="font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">EVEN if the the whole universe will declare “in support of the Philippines” each time our resupply vessels are blasted by water cannons from the Chinese Coast Guard ship, the bullying at Ayungin Shoal will continue. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Even if the United States and the European Union and other sympathetic countries around the world will condemn China’s aggression in the disputed sea each time another RP ship is ambushed by water cannons, the nightmare at sea for the Filipinos will not end.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Even if the United Nations will reprimand and warn China for the never-ending harassment of our ships supplying food and personnel in a military outpost on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, and recently causing a “major damage” to the ship, we expect to see a repeat of the water cannon attack in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">It seems the declarations of support and condemnation coming from all over the world have no effect and not the solution to the Ayungin Shoal standoff.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">It’s about time the Philippines fended itself and stopped hoping for a miracle solution from mere “statements of support and condemnation.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">US FOR RP ANEW. According to the United States Department of State, “the United States stands with its ally the Philippines and condemns the dangerous actions by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea on March 23.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">In an email sent to this writer March 23, Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said, “PRC ships’ repeated employment of water cannons and reckless blocking maneuvers resulted in injuries to Filipino service members and significant damage to their resupply vessel, rendering it immobile.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">The PRC’s actions prevent normal personnel rotations and deprive Filipino service members at Second Thomas Shoal of necessary provisions, Miller explained. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">“This incident marks only the latest in the PRC’s repeated obstruction of Philippine vessels’ exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and disruption of supply lines to this longstanding outpost,” the spokesman added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">The PRC’s actions are destabilizing to the region and show clear disregard for international law. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">According to an international tribunal’s legally binding decision issued in July 2016, the PRC has no lawful maritime claims to the waters around Second Thomas Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal is a low tide feature clearly within the Philippines exclusive economic zone. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">As provided under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, the 2016 arbitral decision is final and legally binding on the PRC and the Philippines, and the United States calls upon the PRC to abide by the ruling and desist from its dangerous and destabilizing conduct.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">“The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft–including those of its Coast Guard–anywhere in the South China Sea,” Miller concluded.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">ATOMS CANNOT BE SEEN. To show that the world was made of particles a million times smaller than objects visible to the naked eye was so difficult that their existence was not established beyond reasonable doubt until the end of the nineteenth century.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">EMPTY CUP. Each day is full of reasons to praise God, even when life seems empty of comfort or joy. It's when our cups are empty that God fills them up. My cup was empty yesterday but this morning, it was filled up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">(PG 13) 38 percent of men have no problem leaping from one relationship to the next. Only 19 percent of women can handle the quick switch. (FHM)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">(PG 13) 67 percent of women don't want a partner who has already had lots of partners. (Petra)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)</span></i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-46548288674417947012024-03-23T18:41:00.001-04:002024-03-23T18:46:41.708-04:00 ‘Jamjam Baronda will run for reelection100 percent’<p><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmfy0SwoDeNOOuDMi_EBcRY4a8u6K7wGL1lzNv1oy-y3rkh9QH5cYfxqQu_fa8KdZXQpITbV0A_nBMJZHNU7PmqCxEr-aNXuDEP4cU2tZpZDjeOYkuR4Rmv7uZzjF7r7c-JjdeClsC3mS9tNWFN2IJ4J-AJ3nICp3ru22STxgaJNT5Y9X03Z1vkvNoiY/s397/IMG_3316.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="282" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmfy0SwoDeNOOuDMi_EBcRY4a8u6K7wGL1lzNv1oy-y3rkh9QH5cYfxqQu_fa8KdZXQpITbV0A_nBMJZHNU7PmqCxEr-aNXuDEP4cU2tZpZDjeOYkuR4Rmv7uZzjF7r7c-JjdeClsC3mS9tNWFN2IJ4J-AJ3nICp3ru22STxgaJNT5Y9X03Z1vkvNoiY/s320/IMG_3316.jpeg" width="227" /></a></span></i></div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br />“I think I might as well give up being a candidate. There are so many people in the country who don't like me.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— William Howard Taft</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">WE won’t speculate until hearing Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda (National Unity Party) make an official announcement herself whether she will seek a third and final term or step aside to pave the way for the chirpy Raisa Maria Lourdes Treñas-Chu or Raisa Treñas, daughter of Iloilo City mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“But Congresswoman Jamjam (Rep. Julienne Baronda) will run 100 percent, Alex,” a former punong barangay from Mandurriao district currently active in city hall politics informed us. “While Jerry (Mayor Geronimo Treñas) was busy selling hard Raisa to barangay leaders to be the probable candidate (for congress), Congresswoman Jamjam was busy going around the different barangays silently.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The former punong barangay, who have relatives holding appointive positions in City Hall, said “members of the entire Baronda family have been busy moving around, too, fueling speculations Congresswoman Jamjam isn’t throwing the white flag yet contrary to what others are thinking.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A senior lady political observer, meanwhile, told this writer, “<i>I still like Jamjam kay nagayuhum siya kag ginakamusta sang mga tawo. Si Raisa iya daw gina pilit lang ang yuhum. One time I was introduced to both Raisa and Jay (former city councilor Jay Treñas, 2013 to 2022) daw wala gani gana mag sapak sa imo. Gina pilit lang ni Jeeree bata ya pero sa charisma pierdihon sia ni Jamjam.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(I still like Jamjam because she smiled while the people shook her hands. Raisa could hardly smile naturally. When I was introduced to both Raisa and Jay Treñas once, they seemed lukewarm to me. Jerry is only pushing for his daughter but in terms of charisma, Jamjam is a lot better.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The senior lady political observer, a retired government employee, added, <i>“May pondo na si Jamjam (Rep. Julienne Baronda) naka duha na siya ka term. May organization naman sia. Indi ina basta lang nga maatras siya. I believe she will run again even against Raisa.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(Jamjam now has the financial resources having serve already for two terms. She also has the organization. It’s not easy for her to just decide not to seek reelection. I believe she will run again against Raisa.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">All the Ilonggos have heard and read about the issue, so far, was Treñas’ breezy announcement in a press conference attended by Raisa and Uswag partylist Rep. James “Jojo” Ang more than a week ago that the city mayor’s brief meeting with Baronda had “averted what could have been an ugly encounter” in the next election.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Treñas was trying to tell all and sundry he was able to somehow “neutralize” the reticent Baronda who even reportedly thanked him for supporting the lady solon in her two previous successful congressional clashes against the late Atty. Joshua Alim and Dr. Perla Zulueta in 2019, and former mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa in 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In the same breath, Treñas revealed “at least 100 percent of the barangay captains” have given their assurances to support Raisa, who holds a degree in economics and has been working alongside Ang in various community outreach programs advocated by Uswag partylist. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">After reading my article about Raisa as being a potential “Iloilo political star,” another former punong barangay in Jaro assured this writer in a private message, “Raisa is really good.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A former city hall department chief who is now a corporate executive, said, “Raisa is slightly ahead when she and (Representative) Jamjam will debate, but let’s admit it, (Representative) Jamjam is more charismatic. When it comes to campaign funds and organization, the political kingmaker, of course, is way ahead.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The die is cast in as far as the complete lineup is concerned for the 2025 local election from representative (Raisa)-city mayor (Treñas)-vice mayor (Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon) and “most of the incumbent city councilors,” according to the city mayor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Will Rep. Baronda, 45, defy her erstwhile political sponsor and risk angering the City Hall demigods?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As the saying goes, it ain’t over ‘till the fat lady sings. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">SMOKER? If we are a smoker, we know that this habit can be hard to kick. If we have been thinking of quitting or have tried before, let's not give up. It is never too late. Let's take advantage of the options available. People who make a plan and get support can succeed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">LET'S CUT OUR CALORIES by doing these simple things: Using skim or 1 percent milk instead of whole 2 percent; choosing water-packed tuna instead of tuna in oil; using "light" or fat-free or dried fruit instead of chips or candy; trimming fat and skin from meats; having one half cup of rice or pasta instead of 1 cup; skipping dessert.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Let's eat colorful fruits and veggies daily for a delicious way to get our vitamins: ORANGE--sweet potatoes, mango, carrots. PURPLE--grape juice, eggplant, plums. Red fruits and veggies may help reduce the risk for several types of cancer. Let's try cranberries, tomatoes, beets, and berries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">PUNISHMENT. Men were taxed as a punishment for having sex with animals in Ancient Rome.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">NORMAL SEX LIFE. In Paris in 1977, microsurgeons managed to sew back the penis and testicles of a young man who had castrated himself in a schizoid fit. Apart from being sterile, the patient was later capable of a normal sex life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-87883725594789249522024-03-22T04:01:00.004-04:002024-03-22T04:02:10.127-04:00Alex P. Vidal Quotes <p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">The one person I am with forever is me. My relationship with myself is eternal, so I choose to be my own best friend. I choose to love and accept myself and talk to myself as I would to a beloved person in my life. I saturate all the cells in my body with love, and they become vibrantly healthy. I relate with love to all of life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">-- UNKNOWN :</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">We have been taught to love our neighbors as Christians. Let's also teach ourselves the art of self love. It's not selfishness and greed. It's rational selfishness that revs up and solidifies our inner strength, self worth, and self confidence.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">-- ALEX P. VIDAL #alexpvidalquotes</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zDAamjr4YE247AxWFciucPfuKWkvfemd6pDtGoHxpOEMYf3cAzdQ2EAw2maFy1DvAE6rC9UT22sI4g1fwE3sHq0fWYxzan_AE3xfJD_T3RsYEcAaNKtSjSWAEDps6D7Tyl93u7vm45y5-YRNVGz0gjnf-Y_ezLBnBib9gS9eyDz0jJKJ1hqnVf7-DnQ/s960/IMG_3435.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zDAamjr4YE247AxWFciucPfuKWkvfemd6pDtGoHxpOEMYf3cAzdQ2EAw2maFy1DvAE6rC9UT22sI4g1fwE3sHq0fWYxzan_AE3xfJD_T3RsYEcAaNKtSjSWAEDps6D7Tyl93u7vm45y5-YRNVGz0gjnf-Y_ezLBnBib9gS9eyDz0jJKJ1hqnVf7-DnQ/w480-h640/IMG_3435.jpeg" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-18088494724366495062024-03-22T03:57:00.003-04:002024-03-22T03:57:34.204-04:00Alex P. Vidal Quotes <p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jXuh6whyIYptVGaftFHo6QVUurxPEsoT9cW_BWK0O2S1ERquKoxGaz7TrOh6qEt2Gg7Rck-EyHv9ZNX9YQzHvDlu28nWoNsGsa7Sf7nokqwBbPCT9hSJmPUcGODs60ijDk6FQIxYmLB5toCmyXmLOpm31qJRL0Kdmo7lkZB1SP6rwCTIVXu2a0TXgjM/s1247/IMG_3321.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1247" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jXuh6whyIYptVGaftFHo6QVUurxPEsoT9cW_BWK0O2S1ERquKoxGaz7TrOh6qEt2Gg7Rck-EyHv9ZNX9YQzHvDlu28nWoNsGsa7Sf7nokqwBbPCT9hSJmPUcGODs60ijDk6FQIxYmLB5toCmyXmLOpm31qJRL0Kdmo7lkZB1SP6rwCTIVXu2a0TXgjM/s320/IMG_3321.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">Don’t fall for someone who is not willing to catch you.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">—THINKNSHINE :</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">Some of those who are willing and always ready to catch us are true friends and loved ones who will never let us fall in the first place.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">—ALEX P. VIDAL #alexpvidalquotes</span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-42661259702031632522024-03-21T18:48:00.003-04:002024-03-21T18:48:20.243-04:00 It’s OK to flare up, don’t feel guilty<p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEN5G63eaLR0Hro-mG0J98khOQ65sAgYAdMFtHxreqhv94ruukeBgUvaY4vyEYe_R5PX9j15OVdGpCSSQe1TVcYFh3Dm0gv5axPQN-5031rVz-mAwyWKQ4WN_4JKlwQ91iICgFR5mFRVF8BocGQ1sQDWoop6gwOJdHKJy9eIrqtFhAw6LwWhDlS2TsqfI/s1436/IMG_3430.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="887" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEN5G63eaLR0Hro-mG0J98khOQ65sAgYAdMFtHxreqhv94ruukeBgUvaY4vyEYe_R5PX9j15OVdGpCSSQe1TVcYFh3Dm0gv5axPQN-5031rVz-mAwyWKQ4WN_4JKlwQ91iICgFR5mFRVF8BocGQ1sQDWoop6gwOJdHKJy9eIrqtFhAw6LwWhDlS2TsqfI/s320/IMG_3430.jpeg" width="198" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i>“Speak when you are angry, and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.”</i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"> —Laurence J. Peter</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">LIKE the Filipino teacher in the now deactivated viral <i>TikTok</i> clip, some principals and college deans also lose their tempers and act like Haiti gangsters inside the classrooms and faculty meetings from time to time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I personally know some of these characters and even watched while they literally ran berserk.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Since no outsider has witnessed the fracases, there’s no earthshaking reaction from any non-teaching staff and personnel, students and even parents. No public outcry whatsoever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The only difference as we emphasized in our previous article is that these seemingly abnormal behaviors by the educators and other bigwigs in the learning institutions were never posted on the social media or <i>TikToked</i> “live.” Hence, no hostile and knee jerk reaction from the netizens.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In police stations, army barracks, editorial rooms, radio station booths, PTA (Parents and Teachers Association) meetings, corporate board meetings, City Hall and Capitol conferences, vendors association gatherings, and church choir orientations, prayer rallies, among other crowded assemblies, there are uncanny and unappetizing outbursts from the speakers, CEOs, religious and political leaders, managers and other persons in authority who aren’t happy or satisfied with their underlings’ performance and efficiency.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Every now and then someone powerful or holding higher positions in any organization or institution flares up and calls someone names; managers, politicians, parish priests, club presidents act worse than the teacher in the viral <i>TikTok</i> video that became the talk of the nation for a while until Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio “pardoned” her rant in front of the students saying “she’s only human.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Their volcanic eruptions have escaped scrutiny from public and netizens because, we repeat, they were never “advertised” or posted on the social media for the world to watch.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Many of us may have grown up thinking that it's always okay to act out our anger aggressively or violently. So we didn't learn how to understand and manage our angry feelings. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">This could mean we have angry outbursts whenever we don't like the way someone or the whole class is behaving. Or whenever we are in a situation we don't like.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">We may have been brought up to believe that we shouldn't complain. We may have been punished for expressing anger as a child. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">This could mean that we tend to suppress our anger. If we don't feel release our anger in a healthy way, it can become a long-term problem. If we are not comfortable with new situations, our reaction to them might be out of place or ill-fitting. Or we might turn this anger inwards on ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">We may have witnessed our parents' or other adults' anger when it was out of control. And learned to think of anger as something that is always destructive and terrifying. This could mean that we now feel afraid of our own anger. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">And we don't feel safe expressing our feelings when something makes us angry. Those feelings might then surface at another unconnected time. This may feel hard to explain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I received an email May 21 from the New York City Health+Hospitals warning bout colon cancer which is currently the second leading cause of cancer deaths in New York City. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“It is most often found in people over the age of 45 years. Early in the disease, there may be no symptoms. So, you may not know you have it,” the email informed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“The good news is that colon cancer screenings can find cancer early, when it is easier to treat. At NYC Health + Hospitals, our doctors are ready to help you find the colon cancer screening that is right for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The rest of the email thus stated: <i>Screening. There are two main types of screening. Talk to your doctor about which screening test is right for you.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Colonoscopies - This is a procedure in which a flexible instrument with a camera at the tip is inserted through the anus in order to examine the lining of the colon. If lesions are found, the doctor can remove them at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Fecal immunochemical test or FIT test – This is a test that looks for hidden blood in the stool which can be an early sign of cancer. The stool sample is collected at home and is processed in the lab. If blood is found in your stool, you may, then, need to have a colonoscopy.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-6460864509433011752024-03-20T22:25:00.007-04:002024-03-20T22:31:58.094-04:00Iloilo’s future political star<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W99OuSNAcCugPYTyQdPqG0KsKD5orPpTMd1wVCuTKQqNkRpkuKzBlVWGcvZc8oZ5tnAm8uGRk-PzS8J1EGTFtdOFhQetRF0uEXI8RVOksbm_zozqqPhpU91lPJlbVm1LRMYw7QYcRMrWh2khRsQF0s16JbeIRQrT0PwWotp7YCfYPzG-nKyr1_5Mdd4/s861/IMG_3400.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="531" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W99OuSNAcCugPYTyQdPqG0KsKD5orPpTMd1wVCuTKQqNkRpkuKzBlVWGcvZc8oZ5tnAm8uGRk-PzS8J1EGTFtdOFhQetRF0uEXI8RVOksbm_zozqqPhpU91lPJlbVm1LRMYw7QYcRMrWh2khRsQF0s16JbeIRQrT0PwWotp7YCfYPzG-nKyr1_5Mdd4/s320/IMG_3400.jpeg" width="197" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”<o:p></o:p></span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— Dwight D. Eisenhower</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">PRESUMPTIVE future lady solon Raisa Treñas should start showing the Ilonggo voters that she is her own woman despite being publicly endorsed by her dad, Iloilo City mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, to be the next representative in the lone district of Iloilo City vice current Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda (granting Baronda won’t seek reelection on her own and still win in the next election).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">How? By starting to meet the press in conferences frequently and making her presence felt in major gatherings and public events even without the presence of her father. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Also, by giving speeches in educational and cultural institutions, barangay conclaves, economic gabs, and logging more exposure in the mass and social media.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In a most recent press conference where the city mayor announced his political separation from Baronda and formally introduced the political plans of Raisa (Mrs. Raisa Maria Lourdes Treñas-Chu), the daughter, a degree holder in economics, showed the potential of being a good speaker. She was confident, calm and focused. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The job of a legislator is a job of a good speaker and a thinker to boot. When a lawmaker sponsors a certain bill, he or she has to defend it in a deliberation or floor debate. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Lawmakers who can’t debate or adamant to debate are normally mocked as “members of the committee on silence.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Because the press conference with her father and Uswag partylist Rep. James “Jojo” Ang was more about announcement of a major political breakup between two political behemoths in Iloilo City, Raisa or Mrs. Treñas-Chu wasn’t given ample time to talk. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Not all sons and daughters of seasoned politicians are gifted and possessed the qualities of good leaders like their outstanding parents.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Judging from the way she spoke the young and vibrant Mrs. Treñas-Chu could be the next political star to come out from the Visayas. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">MARCOS-BLINKEN MEETING. The below is attributable to US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., March 19 in Manila, the Philippines. Secretary Blinken and President Marcos emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Philippine Alliance to security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and underscored their shared commitment to upholding international law in the South China Sea.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Secretary Blinken and President Marcos noted the recent successful Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to Manila, the signing of a civil nuclear cooperation “123” agreement during APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in San Francisco, and additional initiatives underway to foster cooperation in support of our shared economic priorities, including on semiconductors, clean energy, digital economy, and infrastructure.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The Secretary and President Marcos looked forward to upcoming high-level events to strengthen our bilateral ties, including the meeting between Presidents Marcos and Biden in April in Washington, DC. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">They welcomed the first trilateral leaders’ summit between the United States, the Philippines, and Japan, also to be vheld in Washington in April. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The Secretary and President Marcos also discussed efforts to promote respect for human rights and strengthen democratic institutions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">According to experts in environment, the following are some of the ways in which man has upset nature’s balance and reduced our supplies of natural wealth:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">1. Destruction of vast forest areas. Enormous quantities of lumber were taken from our forests for buildings, furniture, fuel, and other useful purposes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But because of the apparent abundance of forests, lumbering practices were very wasteful. Little heed was given to the replanting of trees to keep our forests producing for the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">2. Destruction of wildlife. When forests are cut away, the homes of countless animals are destroyed, and these animals die.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The balance of nature has been upset at a vital point, and entire species may vanish as a result.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Added to this is the effect of needless trapping and shooting of animals for sport.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Examples of species made extinct or nearly extinct by man most particularly in America are: American bison (buffalo), antelope, passenger pigeon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">3. Reckless use of farmlands. Nature’s orderly processes keep soils permanently fertile.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But when man’s sole interest is to extract the maximum crop from his farm each year, regardless of the consequences, the soil soon loses its essential minerals and cannot support plant life at all. The soil, moreover, loosened and laid bare by the planting and harvesting of a single crop, and the wind and the rain easily carry it away.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">4. Overgrazing of pasture lands. Sheep- and cattle-raisers, through lack of planning and foresight, have pastured their animals on the same land year after year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Here, too, the result has been to lay bare the soil, so that it falls victim to erosion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">5. Pollution of streams. The dumping of sewage and industrial wastes into streams and rivers makes these waters unhealthy for water life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The result is the destruction of large numbers of fish, oysters, and other valuable organisms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-327658450883115562024-03-19T12:17:00.002-04:002024-03-19T12:23:12.450-04:00We have the right to sue onion-skinned politicians<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JpDGZGHN1Xqr5hSks_vAiHZaLV90IUufQKXQl5ZtYR_wfxeR-jEFIzGu81ROogy0s8SNybSee84bESgbW5blWNTXjNyMTVMNY0QhGEtah6HdDE6AaYY5RBxk4Y5q_n0aS3mA2h0Q0kjmqhEDDSO2s2fmCTrq7-CPOIzXaWjFzlStc6p00aYJIZ_fenw/s861/IMG_3400.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="531" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JpDGZGHN1Xqr5hSks_vAiHZaLV90IUufQKXQl5ZtYR_wfxeR-jEFIzGu81ROogy0s8SNybSee84bESgbW5blWNTXjNyMTVMNY0QhGEtah6HdDE6AaYY5RBxk4Y5q_n0aS3mA2h0Q0kjmqhEDDSO2s2fmCTrq7-CPOIzXaWjFzlStc6p00aYJIZ_fenw/s320/IMG_3400.jpeg" width="197" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br />“I always try to tell a good story, one with a compelling plot that will keep the pages turning. That is my first and primary goal. Sometimes I can tackle an issue-homelessness, tobacco litigation, insurance fraud, the death penalty-and wrap a good story around it.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— John Grisham</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A TIT for a tat.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I am very much inspired by Supreme Court 1st Judicial District in New York Judge Robert R. Reed’s ruling for former U.S. President Donald Trump to pay $392,000 to <i>The New York Times </i>to cover the legal costs from his failed lawsuit against the newspaper and its journalists over a 2018 investigation into his finances that included confidential tax records.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">If the Philippine courts could make the same ruling, those who attempted to misuse the judicial system to try to silence journalists would have been punished like Mr. Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Onion-skinned Filipino politicians, including appointed public officials, police, military officers, and the corrupt and incompetent prosecutors in cahoots with these politicians, should be ordered to pay journalists for the legal costs and damages if they can’t prove their claim they have been libeled or maligned by the press people they hauled in court.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">This is one way of giving our tormentors and harassers a dose of their own medicine and teach them a lesson to stop acting like demigods and holy cows while in public offices and receiving salaries and pelfs from the taxpayers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">No professional journalist will criticize erring public officials with intention to malign or destroy the public officials’ reputation unless he or she is a pseudo-journalist, an extortionist or one who practices ACDC (attack and collect and defend and collect) style.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Journalists—or members of the Fourth Estate, the media practitioners—exist because the government exists. Our No. 1 job prescriptions are to inform, educate and criticize, not to destroy or propagate mayhem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I included the “corrupt prosecutors” because of personal experiences and overwhelming evidence and circumstances. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When an ignorant city politician filed libel cases against the editorial staff of the <i>Sun.Star Iloilo Daily</i> led by the late publisher Marcos Villalon and yours truly as editor-in-chief in 1999 that romped off over a factual story written by columnist Wenceslao Mateo followed by a series of blind items written by contributors whose identities I have vowed to protect until this day (unless I was compelled by the court to name them in a fair and honest trial), some of the “corrupt and incompetent prosecutors” tossed everything—including the kitchen sink—to the trial court.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">None of the whimsical and waggish cases prospered; they were all simultaneously dismissed by the competent trial courts in different branches. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Mr. Trump was ordered to pay the money in January, more than eight months after Judge Reed granted the <i>Times’</i> motion to dismiss the case against it and its journalists, concluding the journalists’ conduct was protected by the New York Constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Among the claims that Mr. Trump brought against the publication was the accusation that the journalists were liable for “tortious interference” in how they allegedly sought out his niece and caused her to allegedly breach a 2001 settlement contract with the Trump family.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Authored by David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner, the reporting series went on to win the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In 2023, the judge said he was dismissing the claim against the <i>Times</i> “because <i>The Times’</i> purpose in reporting on a story of a high public interest constitutes justification as a matter of law.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The judge pointed to recent amendments made to New York’s so-called anti-SLAPP law—which provides a mechanism for defendants to seek quick dismissal of lawsuits that target conduct protected by the First Amendment—in explaining why he was ordering the dismissal of the defendants and the payment of their attorneys’ fees.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A CNN report quoted the publication’s spokesman on February 26, 2024 calling the anti-SLAPP statute as a “powerful force for protecting press freedom.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“This decision shows that the state’s newly amended anti-SLAPP statute can be a powerful force for protecting press freedom,” <i>Times</i> spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement, as quoted by CNN. “The court has sent a message to those who want to misuse the judicial system to try to silence journalists.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo. — Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-40205473048570845602024-03-18T18:51:00.007-04:002024-03-19T04:28:25.246-04:00Unless someone will TikTok it<p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5w2s4L2LVfwrsGAjGzgl3yEY7YGvP8W0jGtEEbDDk4PzdG-XmlM_RmMrUC0wBl_WmHBN4uoi3ZJUD6y_oQYCbCY8s4bO91E9x85HaLtL-rhqr-lhyphenhyphenfnZBcpljqdls6Nd4b8mvBB2Dgwoc0In9nnEx6boJCZd3ThrEXNeh-2aOYbfANJ3IapKZfDTNTts/s960/IMG_3297.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="679" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5w2s4L2LVfwrsGAjGzgl3yEY7YGvP8W0jGtEEbDDk4PzdG-XmlM_RmMrUC0wBl_WmHBN4uoi3ZJUD6y_oQYCbCY8s4bO91E9x85HaLtL-rhqr-lhyphenhyphenfnZBcpljqdls6Nd4b8mvBB2Dgwoc0In9nnEx6boJCZd3ThrEXNeh-2aOYbfANJ3IapKZfDTNTts/s320/IMG_3297.jpeg" width="226" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">“I am still learning.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">—Michelangelo</span></i><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b>By Alex P. Vidal</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">INCIDENTS of teachers—both in private and public schools—losing their patience and exploding in anger inside the classrooms are not new. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Every now and then there are teachers who waste a big chunk of teaching hour to reprimand the students or mightily release their hard feelings in front of the students.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">This is normal. Sometimes a teacher has to show his or her fangs to drive home a message especially when the students are blatantly showing disrespect and acts of hooliganism inside the classroom and acting like Houthi rebels.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">What is not normal is when the annoyed teacher “advertises” his or her ebullition, or, just like what the agitated teacher who recently went viral did, post “live” the outburst in the social media or <i>TikTok</i> it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">People outside the classroom have nothing to do or have no idea what is happening inside the classroom. In fact, they don’t give a damn and they don’t care at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The netizens will only watch anything that appears in their cellphones and electronic gadgets as they scroll through the wild and woolly world of the social media, but they won’t get frightened or alarmed if the events they are prying into don’t relate to their loved ones: children or schoolchildren.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o- <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Many teachers in the Philippines are overstressed and sometimes emotionally—if not mentally—problematic when they report for work. As human beings, they, too, are subjected to day-to-day foibles and challenges in life like you and me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A little miscue by a student or a peripheral clash of ideas that will piss the teacher off sometimes ends up with the student getting a dressing down in front of his or her classmates. In most cases, the students are at the mercy of their teachers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Our main takeaway is that mental health is an important, and too often overlooked, aspect of our lives. This is true for everyone: teachers and non-teachers, parents and students.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A classroom must be strife-free and tranquil. Because of their relationship, things that happen inside the classroom normally aren’t treated by both the teacher and students as earthshaking.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">What happen inside the classroom—as long as it is not inimical to the interest of the students and doesn’t compromise the students’ security and well-being—stays inside the classroom—unless somebody will <i>TikTok</i> it or post it in Instagram. X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and other social media platforms. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Ultimately, many aspects of workplace stress stem from anxiety about being effective at work. Teachers, like many other professionals, want to be effective in their jobs and suffer from increased stress, anxiety, and depression when they know they aren’t at their best or are not receiving needed support.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">HOW THESE NOTORIOUS GANGSTERS DIE. Never mind if some of their ilk are still very much alive today, enriching themselves astronomically, killing people left and right, and violating our laws with impunity. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Their time will come, anyway. Crime doesn't pay.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">History, in fact, is not kind to some of the most notorious gangsters based on the way they died:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Joe Aiello (1928-1930), assassinated October 23, 1930. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Al Capone (1899-1947), syphilis and pneumonia. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Steve Ferrigno, assassinated November 5, 1930. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Antonio Lombardo, assassinated September 7, 1928 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Salvatore Maranzano, assassinated September 11, 1931. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Giuseppe Masseria (Joe the Boss), assassinated April 10, 1931. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Bugs Moran (August 1891–February 25, 1957), lung cancer. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Alfred Mineo, assassinated November 5, 1930. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Joseph Pinzolo assassinated September 1930. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Gaetano Reina, assassinated February 28, 1930. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--John Torrio (The Fox), heart attack April 16, 1957. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">--Frankie Yale, assassinated July 1, 1928.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As Martin Luther King Jr had said, <i>"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace."<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-54573609383401966142024-03-17T14:43:00.003-04:002024-03-18T07:29:33.520-04:00 Nanay Julie’s pain<p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-HiLDGl4CIraNl4L1HlyxICmUW3O6qSShGp4Qe4KCfO3O5sIouNiF1Tct2OBz8Gf1o4-lPk2syJvb4kcdA0-QUjDGg26otRKaYmctOEYzyGuo9Uir6C_eQMJkaUk-JvlMqXmRj9BQcB7LFTRZ9w9ki7ATdCxwO4ef4zlARGlel2FWLrM7q31wAL3CRQ/s960/IMG_3297.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="679" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-HiLDGl4CIraNl4L1HlyxICmUW3O6qSShGp4Qe4KCfO3O5sIouNiF1Tct2OBz8Gf1o4-lPk2syJvb4kcdA0-QUjDGg26otRKaYmctOEYzyGuo9Uir6C_eQMJkaUk-JvlMqXmRj9BQcB7LFTRZ9w9ki7ATdCxwO4ef4zlARGlel2FWLrM7q31wAL3CRQ/s320/IMG_3297.jpeg" width="226" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i>“Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you!”</i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— George M. Cohan</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">IF Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda can’t secure a third and final term and bows out from the congressional race to pave the way for “Tito Jerry’s” (this is how Rep. Jamjam calls Iloilo City mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas in private) daughter, Raisa Maria Lourdes or Raisa, the person who will get hurt most is Dr. Julie Baronda or “Dok Julie”, Rep. Jamjam’s mother.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Second is Councilor Urminico Baronda, Rep. Jamjam’s dad, and the rest of the fabled Baronda clan. All in the family.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Rep. Jamjam is the clan’s political gem. At 45, she’s “too young” to exit from politics (granting she will no longer seek a public office after a terse “adieu” meeting with “Tito Jerry” on March 16 where she “respected” the city mayor’s decision to field his daughter for congress in the next election).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She’s “too valuable” and “too nifty” to be elbowed away and stopped in her tracks while her appetite for legislation is at fever pitch. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Moving out or taking a forced hiatus in the field the Barondas have learned to love most is a bitter pill to swallow particularly for <i>Nanay</i> Julie, who foresees her daughter becoming the next city mayor after “completing” her term third as congresswoman. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">For <i>Nanay</i> Julie, this isn’t acceptable. The sudden change of event where daughter Jamjam is in danger of being sideswiped for a third and final term, is like a political death from a thousand cuts, so to speak. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The “interruption” will create a huge vacuum in the majestic buildup for daughter Jamjam’s next political career. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">City hall is near and yet so far? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Simply put, a Baronda City Hall takeover beyond “Tito Jerry’s” term as city mayor may have been embedded in the clan’s radar what with the star-studded cast all active in public service—Dr. Julie as punong barangay of Brgy. Javellana Extension in Jaro; Dr. Urminico as incumbent city councilor; and Love Baronda as erstwhile City Hall executive assistant.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Who wouldn’t—especially if the opportunity and possibility of hitting a political pay dirt in one fell swoop present themselves? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A “student of political science” as he himself has admitted, Treñas may have read the political handwritings on the wall. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">With his clan members (including wife, Rosalie, and former city councilor Jay, and recently Raisa) also very much active and “willing, able, enthusiastic” to form a beeline to secure and retain the bailiwick, Treñas may have thought it was time he moved quickly and swiftly and to cut and cut clean.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">If one has to slay a dragon, he must start by first chopping off the dragon’s head. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Eliminating Rep. Jamjam this early with the “support of 100 percent of the barangay captains” (180 barangays all) will underline Treñas’ smashing dominance of metro politics and solidify his reputation as undisputed kingmaker.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But wait a minute. Isn’t it premature to write off Rep. Jamjam and the rest of the fighting Baronda clan for that matter? Politics, after all, is like a loaded dice and so unpredictable. Is being ditched by “Tito Jerry” constitute the final nail in the political coffin?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">What if Rep. Jamjam changes her mind and decides to slug it out versus Raisa (Mrs. Raisa Maria Lourdes Treñas-Chu) in the next congressional election?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">There’s a saying that only fools don’t change their minds. Ditto in politics. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The next phases in Iloilo City’s political developments will certainly take the Ilonggo voters in the edges of their seats. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">For the meantime, <i>Nanay</i> Julie’s pain is real. So does with other mothers who think they are never really alone in their thoughts. That <i>Nanay</i> Julie has to think twice—one for herself and one for daughter, Rep. Jamjam.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Janet Fitch once said this about her daughter: <i>“If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have to take jobs like this. She would be half a planet away, floating in a turquoise sea, dancing by moonlight to flamenco guitar. I felt my guilt like a brand.... I had seen girls clamor for new clothes and complain about what their mothers made for dinner. I was always mortified. Didn't they know they were tying their mothers to the ground? Weren't chains ashamed of their prisoners?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-83924207216607461262024-03-16T13:53:00.004-04:002024-03-16T14:03:46.316-04:00 Is the Treñas political dynasty good for iloilo?<p><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQEWzbWzaOTbo2u1-KFoqrkuD1acgWRKdFdzRhVyzPS1E7t4TaZooyDk6IFCYuT8BZZyouTtbDklMNXlfGwQ28ixLez-7LUkRn00up1xPYwQcNOX9Xz1ftd5fha4kU4KSjOMON9YC-l1Aq93DnkJKWUCrmwNkYjl4nQQzBdZOSQH_GOcauYLsv8r9cyY/s1387/IMG_3323.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQEWzbWzaOTbo2u1-KFoqrkuD1acgWRKdFdzRhVyzPS1E7t4TaZooyDk6IFCYuT8BZZyouTtbDklMNXlfGwQ28ixLez-7LUkRn00up1xPYwQcNOX9Xz1ftd5fha4kU4KSjOMON9YC-l1Aq93DnkJKWUCrmwNkYjl4nQQzBdZOSQH_GOcauYLsv8r9cyY/s320/IMG_3323.jpeg" width="148" /></a></span></i></div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">“Giving your children a skill is more valuable than giving them your savings.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">LEADERS who recruit their wives, children, <i>queridas</i> and <i>queridos</i> into politics with full knowledge that they are incompetent, or good-for-nothing instantly gives the words “political dynasty” a bad reputation and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Like the Revillas in Cavite (<i>“porke artista ipipilit nalang?”</i> protested some voters); the Pacquiaos in Saranggani (<i>“Porke sikat na boksingero kuya nila e tolerate na lang?” </i>bemoaned some taxpayers); and the Parojinogs and Ampatuans in Ozamis and Maguindanao (<i>“Porke ‘terror’ groups takot na tayo?</i>) respectively, to mention a few.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The impression is they need to stay in power or altogether starve—or their wealth will decline rapidly. Taxpayers’ money is their main livelihood—and means of survival. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“Matindi ang pangangailangan </span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(they badly need a desperate measure to get out of dire straits),” as the popular Tagalog saying goes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Incompetent politicians become competently corrupt, and they end up as liabilities of the taxpayers if not shame and scandal in public service.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Political power has been known to be self-perpetuating. Legislators who hold power for longer become more likely to have relatives entering Congress in the future. Thus, in politics, power begets power.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The literature on political dynasties in democracies usually considers them as a homogenous group and points out their negative effects.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">This has raised concerns that inequality in the distribution of political power may reflect imperfections in democratic representation. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">To compound the matter, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has chipped in a more horrifying description of the political dynasty: "Political dynasties breed corruption and ineptitude.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The CBCP believes that "because political power is monopolized by political dynasties. The dominance of powerful families have also allowed politicians facing corruption charges to get elected into public office.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But in every rule, they say, there is an exception. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">If the clan patriarch or matriarch is very much qualified and competent and recruits or convinces very qualified and competent dynastic family members, as well, to join them or tap the offsprings as their possible successors, there may be some positive impact as the working relationship may be driven by internalized democratic norms and beliefs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Political dynasties are a prevalent form of transmission of political power in many democratic political systems not only in Iloilo and Guimaras, but also in other parts of the Philippines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Some positive effects, such as inducing higher levels of congressional earmarks, are expected when there is symbiotic working relationship between, let’s say, father and daughter e.g. the case of Iloilo City mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas and “future” Iloilo City lone district Rep. Raisa (granting incumbent Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda will not run anymore—and win).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">However, there’s a caveat in the higher levels of congressional earmarks. The implications of the empirical analyses made by many political science experts convey that political dynasties have deleterious effects in terms of the allocation of public goods.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Politicians who are part of a dynasty like the Garins of the first district of Iloilo; the Defensors of the third district of Iloilo; the Birons of the fourth district of Iloilo; the Palmareses of Passi, to name only a few, strategize for the long term because they’re mindful of the family name and the clan’s political future. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Even if they enrich their families in the process, as they often do, they may take better care of their constituents as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">There’s no doubt that a constant stream of Garins, Defensors, Birons, Navas in Guimaras, Palmareses in Passi sucks up bandwidth that otherwise might have carried the messages and perspectives of new and different political hopefuls.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The same idea of the right to run for office is probably the very reason that Ilonggos, or the Filipinos for that matter, don’t object more vigorously to politics as a family business. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In a country based firmly on political patronage, we can’t stop Mrs. Sara Duterte-Carpio from running for President in 2028 just because her father once held the job. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“Political dynasty” may be unpopular, but it’s up to voters to decide if they want to elect her as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Treñas, who swore Raisa is “very competent to become a legislator”, categorically offered the same explanation when he and Raisa, along with with USWAG partylist Rep. James “Jojo” Ang Jr. faced the Iloilo press March 16.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The darker side of dynastic politics probably outweighs the positives, though, warned political analyst Leonid Bershidsky. “Wherever there are dynasties, there’s less competition for votes. There’s nothing wrong with members of prominent political families wanting to serve the country. But there’s nothing wrong, either, with voters rejecting a self-perpetuating government,” Bershidsky concluded.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-91578187952207951742024-03-14T09:35:00.000-04:002024-03-14T22:43:27.585-04:00Ilonggo escapes jail term; 4 others convicted in fake marriage scam<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">“I love you and it is for real. I don’t care about how others categorize my love for you.” </span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">– Andrew Bolt</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">ILOILO City resident Felipe David has escaped a jail term while four other fellow Filipino co-accused in a large-scale marriage fraud “agency” based in Los Angeles have been convicted by the Boston court, according to information I obtained from the U.S. Department of Justice March 12.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“Tapos na ako sa kaso. Okey ang sentencing, probation lang no jail time </span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(I’m done with my case and the sentencing is okay. I got a probation but no jail time),” confirmed David, 53, a resident of Molo district in Iloilo City, Philippines, in a Messenger sent to this writer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">David’s co-accused, the mastermind, Marcialito Biol Benitez, a.k.a. “Mars,” 50, who pleaded guilty in September 2023, was sentenced on March 7, 2024 by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqW3BFq2SkBgVT8yPTNzYWUBMlgdGLZaHnaVVsJhyIk_jgHJ0mwaTr6xTed7zRLbE2BHVNzhqBXhllokh-yyVxXAA8BgvKlJh_lL-eS_OsM2uf1oc6HloUwjT1H-8_icTANgGXYZfJJcHG1K0a3C0_xdslFdfKxVHdafrgiZimiZrPVHJ-5neCmN48NU/s1639/IMG_3358.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="1639" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqW3BFq2SkBgVT8yPTNzYWUBMlgdGLZaHnaVVsJhyIk_jgHJ0mwaTr6xTed7zRLbE2BHVNzhqBXhllokh-yyVxXAA8BgvKlJh_lL-eS_OsM2uf1oc6HloUwjT1H-8_icTANgGXYZfJJcHG1K0a3C0_xdslFdfKxVHdafrgiZimiZrPVHJ-5neCmN48NU/w640-h438/IMG_3358.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">FELIPE DAVID (Middle) with his high school classmate Rommel Leal (Left) and the author in New York City in 2019.</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">David initially thought Benitez’s sentencing would be at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on January 10, 2024, thus he asked this writer to check with my Boston source or “get access on the news in the Boston Supreme Court.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">David, who referred clients to the agency for assistance with VAWA-based applications, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that four California-based individuals have been sentenced in federal court in Boston for their roles in running a large-scale marriage fraud “agency” that arranged hundreds of sham marriages for the primary purpose of circumventing immigration laws. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">This included, among other things, obtaining green cards under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by claiming falsely that the undocumented clients had been abused by American spouses.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The defendants, all Philippine nationals residing in Los Angeles, were arrested and charged along with seven others with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud in April 2022. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Also on March 7, 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Juanita Pacson, 48, was sentenced by Judge Casper to two years of supervised release with the first four months on home detention after previously pleading guilty in September 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Engilbert Ulan, 43, was sentenced on March 6, 2024 by Judge Casper to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Ulan was convicted by a federal jury in November 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">On Jan. 11, 2024, Nino Valmeo, 47, was sentenced by Judge Casper to three years of supervised release with the first six months on home confinement after pleading guilty in August 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Benitez, with the help of co-defendants, operated what he and others referred to as an “agency” that arranged hundreds of sham marriages between foreign national “clients” and United States citizens, including at least one foreign national who resided in Massachusetts. The agency then prepared and submitted false petitions, applications and other documents to substantiate the sham marriages and secure adjustment of clients’ immigration statuses for a fee of between $20,000 and $35,000 in cash.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Benitez operated the agency out of brick-and-mortar offices in Los Angeles, where he employed co-defendants Ulan and Valmeo as staff. Ulan and Valmeo assisted with arranging marriages and submitting fraudulent marriage and immigration documents for the agency’s clients. Benitez relied on several other co-conspirators to recruit U.S. citizens to marry the agency’s clients in exchange for payment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">After pairing foreign national clients with citizen spouses, the United States Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts said Benitez’s agency staged fake wedding ceremonies at chapels, parks and other locations, performed by hired online officiants. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Pacson, a friend of these co-defendants who worked at one of the chapels, assisted with sham wedding ceremonies and marriage documents. For many clients, the agency would take photos of undocumented clients and citizen spouses in front of prop wedding decorations for later submission with immigration petitions. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Benitez’s agency then submitted fraudulent, marriage-based immigration petitions to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency responsible for granting lawful permanent resident status. Benitez, Ulan, Pacson, and others, advised clients about creating and maintaining the appearance of legitimate marriage to their spouses, it added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Ulan conducted practice interviews with the agency’s clients and their fake spouses for the purpose of preparing couples to pass required interviews with immigration authorities. He coached the sham couples to provide the same fabricated answers to questions posed during green card interviews and conceal the fraudulent nature of the marriages.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Benitez, Ulan, Valmeo, and Pacson assisted clients with preparing fraudulent supporting documents submitted as “evidence” of the marriages’ legitimacy. Ulan, Valmeo and Pacson also rented the use of their apartment addresses to clients who lived outside of Los Angeles so those clients could list these addresses as their own on green card applications and related documents, to make it appear to immigration authorities that they were living with their sham spouses in the Los Angeles area. Ulan and Valmeo also received cash commissions for referring new clients to the agency. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Benitez’s agency would assist certain clients – typically those whose spouses became unresponsive or uncooperative – with obtaining green cards under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by claiming the undocumented clients had been abused by alleged American spouses. Specifically, Benitez, Valmeo, and others, would submit fraudulent applications on clients’ behalf for temporary restraining orders against spouses based on fabricated domestic violence allegations. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Benitez’s agency would then submit the restraining order documentation along with immigration petitions to USCIS, in order to take advantage of VAWA provisions that permit non-citizen victims of spousal abuse to apply for lawful permanent resident status without their spouses’ involvement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Benitez’s agency arranged sham marriages and submitted fraudulent immigration documents for at least 600 clients between October 2016 and March 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Several co-defendants were previously sentenced by Judge Casper for their roles in this scheme. Peterson Souza, who referred non-citizens to the agency for a fee was sentenced to five months in prison and three years of supervised release with the first five months on home detention.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Office; Chad Plantz, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego; and Alanna Ow, Director of U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, San Diego District made the announcement March 12. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California provided valuable assistance in this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Holcomb and Leslie A. Wright of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-41348941443394609472024-03-13T18:38:00.000-04:002024-03-13T18:38:15.685-04:00 To cheat or not, that’s the question<p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaykQ54pQf-hs94NcYRxDNTWxGMqZ9eTyAis-FHVy3-mMi0Qu10VG5fGy3bHeywedUa5KVerEwZDlvsAow7obrcZgOuYCx7UuqMRN-dH_R9ukjnQT5o3i95S2eCrCKS9az92t3muw-Qr6QgBxMKfr17PNeXCRo2bWuTRaInBzSaJSoMx6VcfBBn-W-qIU/s960/IMG_1400.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="656" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaykQ54pQf-hs94NcYRxDNTWxGMqZ9eTyAis-FHVy3-mMi0Qu10VG5fGy3bHeywedUa5KVerEwZDlvsAow7obrcZgOuYCx7UuqMRN-dH_R9ukjnQT5o3i95S2eCrCKS9az92t3muw-Qr6QgBxMKfr17PNeXCRo2bWuTRaInBzSaJSoMx6VcfBBn-W-qIU/s320/IMG_1400.jpeg" width="219" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i>“I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.”</i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">—Sophocles</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">LEAKED questionnaire in a university admission examination is also a form of cheating. It appears cheating—or our inclination to commit it if given the opportunity—has become part of our culture and identity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I once caught an officemate in a local publication changing the amount in the official receipt of a transaction for advertisement that he was about to submit to the accounting office.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I asked him why he did that when we had a regular salary. He only gave me a smirk, a gesture I dismissed as his defense mechanism. I didn’t press further but I lost my respect for the person. I regret I didn’t report the incident to the publisher.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When we place people in some environments, they are able to cheat to a higher degree and when they are placed in a different environment, that same person with the same mindset ends up cheating to a much lower degree.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">We cheat in card and mahjong games; we cheat inside the classroom; we cheat in board exams; we cheat by beating the traffic lights; we cheat our parents (by keeping the coins when tasked to do an errand).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Also, we cheat our boyfriends and girlfriends, or our husbands and wives; we cheat out business partners; we cheat our employers; we cheat the insurance; we cheat in the elections; we cheat etcetera.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">All humans are actually tempted to cheat, and it comes to the core of what kind of individual is involved in cheating.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As we get tired by resisting temptation in all kinds of aspects of our lives we end up falling to temptation to a higher degree and cheat and lie to a higher degree.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Forbe’s Dan Schawbel said most people in general don't think much about what will happen later in lives, we have this general problem of thinking about short-term and not thinking about long-term and this is everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It's about why we over-eat and under-exercise, and under-save and text and drive, don't take our medication on time and have unprotected sex, all of those behaviors are due to the fact that we don't think about long-term.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In the rational framework of course, people always think about the long-term and in the rational framework of cheating people think in the long-term, but in reality we find that people don't think so much about the long-term<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">NPR studied how small-time cheaters still perceive themselves as good people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"We want to view ourselves as honest, wonderful people and when we cheat ... as long as we cheat just a little bit, we can still view ourselves as good people, but once we start cheating too much ... we can't view ourselves as good people and therefore we stop. So this model of trying to balance the ability to view ourselves as good people on one hand and the ability to cheat on the other hand predicts that people will cheat a little bit and they will still feel good about themselves. ... That's what we see across many, many experiments."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">On how only a few people cheat a lot, but a lot of people cheat a little. "Across all of our experiments, we've tested maybe 30,000 people, and we had a dozen or so bad apples, and they stole about $150 from us. And we had about 18,000 little rotten apples, each of them just stole a couple of dollars, but together it was $36,000. And if you think about it, I think it's actually a good reflection of what happens in society."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">On his favorite cheating experiment. "We give people a sheet of paper with 20 simple math problems, and we say, 'You have 5 minutes to solve as many of those as you can, and we'll give you $1 per question.' We say, 'Go!' People start, they solve as many as they can, at the end of the five minutes, we say, 'Stop! Please count how many questions you got correctly, and now that you know how many questions you got correctly, go to the back of the room and shred this piece of paper. And once you've finished shredding this piece of paper, come to the front of the room and tell me how many questions you got correctly.'<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">10 SUPER SNEAKY WEIGHT-LOSS SECRETS: 1. Never food-shop without gum 2. Ditch your Tupperware 3. Give your guy the first bite 4. Sip from only one type of glass 5. Dish it out 6. Eat after happy hour 7. End your workout with protein 8. Love pretzels 9. Lose the serving dishes 10. Drink after-dinner coffee. SOURCES: Cornwell University Food and Brand Lab; Nutrition and Metabolism Specialist Jana Klauer, M.D.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">EIGHT THINGS GUYS NOTICE ABOUT LADIES INSTANTLY: 1. How thick their hair is 2. If their smile is genuine 3. The size of their group 4. The pitch of their voice 5. Their hip-to-waist ratio 6. Their glowiness 7. What's fake about them 8. Their eyes. SOURCE: Daniel Amen, MD, author of The Brain and Love<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">SIX WORST THINGS A LADY CAN SAY TO A GUY: 1. You're so much better than all the other jerks I've dated 2. Can you really afford that? 3. So we're running a little late. Relax 4. He's a great guy--you should be friends with him 5. She made me promise not to tell, but...6. Don't be silly--I haven't done that in ages (Cosmopolitan, November 2009 issue.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">WE CAN OVERCOME THE PAIN. Strong people are given many trials and heartaches because it is believed that they can overcome such pain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">That they are brave. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But sometimes we get so tired that we just want to scream and give up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When that certain time comes that we can no longer walk on our own, God helps us carry our pain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">For as long as God is here, giving up is never a choice.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-235151759868468142024-03-12T21:28:00.000-04:002024-03-12T21:39:01.593-04:00Amalia’s search for her pa continues<p><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RVFWTY3QD9BSGsfd4UL1xxpJFcFQAtQhyphenhyphenS4kVVtrWZCbMZCfdDXiihXfeQQFnU3fvysrYIMS916I3GzpL6DCZVq9ERiJcyaqwLQ4SyakWVbSfeT8IDmnVKbhZtj0fM2AzdlZkrY64kKwSDcgKg6Hr71zzDwd_WAMtVVESVy9MCQgO9MTN_kHTx_UKhI/s1944/IMG_3289.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="1620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RVFWTY3QD9BSGsfd4UL1xxpJFcFQAtQhyphenhyphenS4kVVtrWZCbMZCfdDXiihXfeQQFnU3fvysrYIMS916I3GzpL6DCZVq9ERiJcyaqwLQ4SyakWVbSfeT8IDmnVKbhZtj0fM2AzdlZkrY64kKwSDcgKg6Hr71zzDwd_WAMtVVESVy9MCQgO9MTN_kHTx_UKhI/s320/IMG_3289.jpeg" width="267" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br />"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father."</i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">--Pope John XXIII</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">UNTIL this day, Amalia’s search for her biological father that began when she was eight years old continues.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"That was the age when my life started to turn hell," Amalia, who turned 65 last October 27, admitted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Amalia was eight when her mother, Thelma, married Segundino in Jamindan, Capiz in the Philippines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"I rebelled," Amalia quipped. "I could not accept it. To add insult, they slaughtered the pig, my only playmate, during their wedding. I ran amuck and secretly poured rice on all the food prepared during the party. No effect though. The guests still managed to empty the plates, including my best friend pig. I cried heavily."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">That's when Amalia realized she was longing for a real father.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"I started to bombard my mother with questions (about my biological father). I started to wallow in self pity and self doubt. When they started to have their own children, my insecurity grew even more," narrated Amalia, who now lives with her American partner, Britt, in Alimodian, Iloilo.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Thelma and Segundino had been blessed with seven children -- two males and five females.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"All that my mother could tell me was that my real father worked in the military camp (Camp Macario Peralta Jr., the country's third largest military camp in Dumalag hills) where she once worked also as part-time tailor," Amalia disclosed. "He was Cebuano-speaking or Waray and could be a soldier."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She said her "number one priority" once Bitt is no longer around "is to continue with my search for my roots in Leyte. Meeting my real father would be a dream."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Amalia met Britt, now 95, in 1984 in her workplace in the cafeteria of the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, three years after the death of her Austrian husband, Vandolf, whom she met through a "mail order bride" arrangement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">After a courtship that started with a "high and hello", Amalia and Britt lived together.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Bitt, who was legally separated with his American wife, spent $20,000 to file for a divorce in the United States to be with Amalia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In 1996, they decided to settle permanently in the Philippines where they built a house in Alimodian, Iloilo.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Britt, a nuclear scientist and formerly with the Vienna-based Atomic Energy Commission, is stricken with Alzheimer's disease, a dementia with memory loss symptoms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">They have no children.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Britt has three children in the previous marriage. Amalia and Britt never got married to each other. She holds a dual citizenship while Britt is an American citizen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"I was able to tour the world because of Britt. When he was not yet sick, we traveled a lot together. He wanted to make me happy and to enjoy my life. I found true happiness with Britt," she sighed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Her marriage with Vandolf lasted only for 16 months. Amalia and Vandolf never had a child.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">While working as a food attendant in Manila in the late 70s, a female friend introduced her to a "pen-pal" type relationship arrangement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Amalia's trip to Vienna--with stopovers in Bangkok via Cathay Pacific, Bombay and Cairo via Egypt Air, and Moscow via Aeroflot, in 1979--was her first international trip.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She never had any idea how Vandolf looked like in person except that he was 47 and she was 27.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">He left Manila at 3:40 pm carrying only in her luggage cloths and several copies of Filipino comics on June 3 and arrived in Vienna at 11:10 am on June 5.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"I was only instructed to look for a man wearing a white shirt," Amalia recalled. "Upon arriving in Vienna, I went outside and left behind my bag in the arrival baggage claim area to look for that person. Then I saw a man and greeted him, 'good morning, sir. Are you Mr. Vandolf Assange?' He just answered me, 'beautiful' without saying my name."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When Vandolf, an automobile mechanic, died of stroke in 1981, he left behind a bookstore.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"I was stunned. I didn't know what to do. It was my first serious relationship, and I was in a foreign land with no relatives there," Amalia stressed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Now an Austrian citizen, Amalia went back to the Philippines and brought to Vienna in May 1981 her half sister, Rochelle, 18, who became a Mrs. Strauffer, and still lives in Vienna until today.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In 1987, Amalia also brought to Vienna for vacation her mother, who went home after 14 months. In 1989, Amalia’s other half sister, Aura, followed suit and cavorted with Amalia’s new boyfriend, Denver.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Amalia and Denver had lived together for four years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"I was older than Denver for five years and I noticed he had a special interest on younger ladies. In other words, Denver fell in love with my sister, so I let him go. My own definition of love is, if you love someone set him free. His happiness should also be your own happiness," Carmen said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Aura and Denver got married in Vienna but their liaison was short-lived.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She never loved him from the start, and Aura confessed she had a boyfriend, Randy, in the Philippines. And she still loved him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Denver was devastated. Amalia’s poetic justice. Now living with another Vienna man, Amalia prevailed over Denver to let go of Aura or "live in misery with a wife who doesn't have feelings for you."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Denver and Aura parted ways amicably and peacefully in Amalia’s presence.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Now an Austrian citizen herself, Aura brought Randy to Vienna to live as husband and wife. Their union produced two male twins. Randy was forced to go back to the Philippines because of the Austrian laws on foreign couple. Denver, still very much in love with Aura, helped his former sweetheart take care of the twin kids, who are now 22.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Depressed and feeling lonely after he wasn't able to join Aura and their twin kids in Vienna again, Randy committed suicide on January 2, 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Amalia described her relationship with her stepfather as "stormy."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As a young girl, while sleeping on their house’s bamboo floor, the drunk stepfather allegedly kicked her on the buttocks because her body was blocking his way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"Until now, the pain is still there. I consulted a doctor in Vienna who told me that because of my age, it's impossible to repair the damage in my bone inflicted by that kicking incident," Amalia complained.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">At 16, Amalia left Jamindan, Capiz in 1969 to work as babysitter and housemaid in Manila, earning P60 a month.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She remitted P50 for financial support and education of her half sisters and half brothers in Jamindan and retained P10 for her personal needs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Amalia learned that her mother and siblings suffered from her stepfather's mismanagement of family funds.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She further learned the stepfather wasted money to gambling and other vices.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She surreptitiously went home to Jamindan and chased with a bolo her stepfather, who escaped unscathed after being roused from sleep when Amalia’s sister shouted and alerted him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"Because of hostile environment and the worsening relationship between me and my stepfather, my grandfather convinced me to leave and go back to Manila. He told me either I will go to jail if I kill my stepfather, or I will be the one who will die," Amalia narrated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">She resumed working as babysitter, housemaid, food attendant serving different employers for 10 years in Manila and Makati before flying to Vienna in 1979.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"My good experiences were all in Vienna. I was able to adopt to the European culture. All my unforgettable experiences in life happened in Vienna," misty-eyed Amalia recalled.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When Britt's health deteriorated, Amalia said she started to experience insecurities in life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"That's normal because I'm used to enjoying my life with Britt for 30 years. Sometimes I feel alone but I need to be stronger now. The best therapy for my loneliness is cooking -- and smiling a lot," she averred.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Despite her financial security, Amalia avoids social life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"I devote my time only to Britt and my family in Jamindan. It's hard to trust people nowadays. I only have limited friends in Bingo games, because friends always have the tendency to take advantage although there are true and sincere friends," Amalia added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Despite a not-so-pleasant relationship with her stepfather, Amalia sponsored his trip to Vienna for a vacation in December 1992.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Estranged daughter and stepfather spent Christmas together until March 1993 when he went home.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">"Time heals the wound. But I still need to see my real father," concluded Amalia, who reached only second year high school.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-60808509125290451172024-03-11T18:01:00.000-04:002024-03-11T19:10:13.203-04:00 We feel safe paying $2.90 per subway ride<p><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHFRofcdbFLJrYZ4Q4UB0htC_-Q8PiXSPuGkp5PJrCb0kzTBeX69FgcSp67Wm1n6RPgZ4Psz-2lH3uV5wfHkfs3vaYayNFla39LhnZDNBCDsKLxVpAo5jeNKRNepdkh3QkrslpRhSSxib-N2ZD6lCnsHKCKBzNjHOb1pIFyoNlrKhlf35HQw5zXYqbPg/s743/IMG_1291.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="382" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHFRofcdbFLJrYZ4Q4UB0htC_-Q8PiXSPuGkp5PJrCb0kzTBeX69FgcSp67Wm1n6RPgZ4Psz-2lH3uV5wfHkfs3vaYayNFla39LhnZDNBCDsKLxVpAo5jeNKRNepdkh3QkrslpRhSSxib-N2ZD6lCnsHKCKBzNjHOb1pIFyoNlrKhlf35HQw5zXYqbPg/s320/IMG_1291.jpeg" width="165" /></a></i></div><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">“I would roll up pennies to take the subway to work in Times Square. I was broke, but I was happy.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— Jennifer Garner</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><o:p style="font-size: 16pt;"></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">BEFORE the 2020 pandemic, we used to pay $2.75 per ride in the subway train and in all other Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) public transportations in New York City.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Now it’s $2.90. I travel from Queens to Manhattan vice versa eight times per week and notice the subway is not only being secured by the New York Police Department (NYPD) after the sudden upsurge of crime in many subway stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Queens.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">We now have the National Guard, a state-based military force that becomes part of the U.S. military's reserve components of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force when activated for federal missions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Can you beat that? That’s equivalent to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deployed in the Light Rail Transit (LRT) or Manila Metro Rail Transit System in the Philippines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As a NYC resident and regular subway passenger, I welcome the deployment of National Guard provided they don’t brandish long firearms as this will bring confusion and fear among the passengers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">We feel safe with the presence of NYPD; we feel safer seeing the National Guard back the security in all the major subway stations. Whenever there is opportunity mostly in the Grand Central Station where I frequently pass by, I do a “selfie” with the NYPD or National Guard men and women in the background. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The deployment of National Guard occurred after subway crime rose nearly 20 percent in January and February this year, as compared to this time in 2023. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The period saw substantial increases in grand larcenies (22 percent increase), felony assaults (17 percent) and robberies (12 percent), according to newly released NYPD statistics.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">There have been two murders in the subway system this year, compared with just one at this point in 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The combined statistics point to an overall crime increase of about 18.3 percent, with 317 reported incidents compared to 268 over the same period last year. However, arrests have also increased by 44 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the NYPD will quickly move to 12-hour tours to try to control the crime wave, which he blamed on the city’s rollback of its subway safety plan that increased police presence in the subway in 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Adams stressed finding a “new norm for patrolling our subway systems” — including reinstating the increased police presence and enhanced bag checks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced March 6 that nearly 1,000 New York National Guardsmen, state police and MTA cops are being deployed to carry out bag checks in the subway system.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Troops first appeared in the subways on March 6 to conduct random bag checks in a major show of force that Hochul said would help solve the “crisis” of crime in the subways, the <i>New York Post</i> has reported.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“These brazen, heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated,” Hochul said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“No one heading to their job or to visit family or go to a doctor appointment should worry that the person sitting next to them possesses a deadly weapon,” the governor added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“They shouldn’t worry about whether someone’s going to brandish a knife or gun. That’s what we’re going to do with these checkpoints.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Hochul has hit back at critics, arguing the average commuter is feeling high levels of “anxiety” on the system and that the National Guard will help “supplement” the NYPD’s efforts to keep the subway safe.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In addition to the patrol boost, Hochul plans to introduce a new law that allows judges to ban anyone who has been convicted of a violent transit assault from riding New York City’s subway or bus system.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Hochul’s plan includes new surveillance cameras directed toward conductor cabins to protect transit staff, CCTV cameras in every train car by the end of the year, and a $20 million cash injection to increase the number of Subway Co-Response Outreach teams throughout the system.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-20691675512034955272024-03-10T22:00:00.000-04:002024-03-10T22:31:27.910-04:00Remembering ambush of ex-Iloilo City mayor <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7iuVWWfKK9UE64Ne019NlMpTL2EPlQvgH8dXVRuCO2EnAwGLLs8xfp3k2A3qKJRZ0OHQncQxKvgfblN8LlFrVniS-pbN-DzSyezFNWjegSzx79JXQuSP1sbaBt58941I_PksApHHfPGD5rDSif9VQol19yIxIlj_rKK1x4I2_jwzTaJzjn-_XUEysqWg/s681/IMG_1291.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7iuVWWfKK9UE64Ne019NlMpTL2EPlQvgH8dXVRuCO2EnAwGLLs8xfp3k2A3qKJRZ0OHQncQxKvgfblN8LlFrVniS-pbN-DzSyezFNWjegSzx79JXQuSP1sbaBt58941I_PksApHHfPGD5rDSif9VQol19yIxIlj_rKK1x4I2_jwzTaJzjn-_XUEysqWg/s320/IMG_1291.jpeg" width="235" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br />“Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— Mao Zedong</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">BEFORE his 50<sup>th</sup> birthday in March 1972, the late former Iloilo City mayor Rodolfo “Bagyo Roding” Ganzon survived an ambush that killed his four bodyguards on Mapa St. in downtown, City Proper.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The entourage of two cars reportedly came from the City Hall at past six o’clock in the evening a few blocks away when unidentified armed men peppered the vehicles with bullets.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">According to the <i>St. Joseph News-Press</i>, a newspaper based in Buchanan County in Missouri, USA, three of the dead were policemen acting as Ganzon’s bodyguards. The other was his civilian driver.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Ganzon, a former senator and congressman, was “wounded on the shoulder but managed to fire back at the attackers with a Thompson submachine gun. Apparently, no one was hit,” reported the <i>St. Joseph News-Press.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The bloody incident happened six months before President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Ganzon, a staunch Marcos critic, was charged and convicted with murder in a separate incident but spent time in jail as “political prisoner” until his release in 1986 where he was allegedly “forced” to campaign for Marcos versus Corazon Aquino in a snap presidential election in exchange for his freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Because he was at odds with then Iloilo City congressman Fermin “Nene” Zarandin Caram Jr. over the violent control of Muelly Loney dock territory, it was rumored that Caram had something to do with the ambush.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The Carams used to be Marcos’ former allies during the pre-Martial Law years. But when the couple reportedly offended then First Lady Imelda R. Marcos, their asset, Filipinas Orient, then the country’s third largest domestic airline first licensed to fly in 1964 over the opposition of the flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL), was abolished.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It was supposed to be a move to rationalize the airline industry as part of Marcos’ Martial Law reforms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Marcos granted PAL a domestic monopoly and allowed PAL to expropriate Filipinas Orient’s aircraft and charged Caram with plundering the firm, winning a court case to freeze all of Caram’s assets. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Badly hurt, the Carams broke up politically with Marcos. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When Caram’s wife, Rosa “Tita”, was appointed as OIC Iloilo City mayor after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, she denied her husband, or family for that matter, had something to do with the failed attempt to kill Ganzon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“<i>Indi kami violenti. Public servants kami kag negosyante</i> (We are not violent. We are public servants and we engage in business),” the Spanish mestiza lady OIC mayor remarked in halted Hiligaynon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When Mayor Caram refused to run against Ganzon in the mayoral election, Ganzon, who ran and lost to newcomer Rafael Lopez-Vito for congressman in the 1987 elections, blasted the Caram couple in his political rally on corner Delgado and Jalandoni Streets, City Proper.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“Nahadlok si Tita (Rosa Caram) nga mag padalagan kontra sa akon. Kay man sadtong nag sabtanay kami ni Nene (Fermin Caram) gin hambalan ya ako nga putyong kuno ako. Ang sabat ko kay Nene, abi pamangkota si Tita kun matuud nga putyong ako </span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(Tita is afraid to face me in the election because one time when Nene and I had argument, he accused me of being uncircumcised. I told him, why don’t you ask Tita if it is true that I am uncircumcised),” boomed Ganzon, then 66, who claimed Mayor Caram was “once my girlfriend.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The crowd erupted in laughter. Political pundits claimed mercurial Ganzon’s outbursts were part of his sardonic style as a seasoned politician.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Paque Caram, the Carams’ son who ran unsuccessfully against Albertito Lopez in the congressional election in the second district of Iloilo, dismissed Ganzon’s allegations as “a total lie.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-7302517732488219132024-03-09T12:55:00.000-05:002024-03-09T13:09:20.073-05:00President Apollo Quiboloy <p><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2r1FBR2GkHJZeVdn_Hg6YKT_JHp9WAKck368h3eemfMaOAvm3d8Lw8P6aFi217spIkBI7eMeFRxtEaDA9NmoVT_Xz6E5OOHVNjpwMAlBaR62vCa53xZZXxDCL_sN1aelGk3XYzTk2I12T8PdEulibZKAwgOU4qanc2CSMOFZ8CLw2aMXG-7V5YPKV3o/s397/IMG_3316.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="282" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2r1FBR2GkHJZeVdn_Hg6YKT_JHp9WAKck368h3eemfMaOAvm3d8Lw8P6aFi217spIkBI7eMeFRxtEaDA9NmoVT_Xz6E5OOHVNjpwMAlBaR62vCa53xZZXxDCL_sN1aelGk3XYzTk2I12T8PdEulibZKAwgOU4qanc2CSMOFZ8CLw2aMXG-7V5YPKV3o/s320/IMG_3316.jpeg" width="227" /></a></span></i></div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br />“I am to be loved, honored and respected solely because I exist. I am to be cherished, spoiled, celebrated because I Am! I was made to be admired. I am a beloved child of God after all.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">―Emmanuella Raphaelle</span><span face="Arial Nova, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><i><b>By Alex P. Vidal</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">IF he is allowed, or will be interested, to run for president (granting he won’t be arrested, jailed and disqualified before the next Philippine presidential election), Apollo Quiboloy could win handily.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As an “appointed son of God”, 73-year-old Quiboloy’s “divine power” is a major edge against any monetary and material campaign arsenal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Aside form his millions of followers in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, Quiboloy is a real McCoy and isn’t peanuts. He must be “half god, half human” who “can stop” typhoons and earthquakes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Most of the 65.75 million registered voters in the Philippines think he has the supernatural ability. Many of the voters believe he holds the key to the “stairways to heaven.” This is the mindset of the Filipino voter. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">If “God wants Quiboloy to serve as president, who can be against God?” Religion provides the Filipino voter a form of comfort that he can turn to alleviate his frustration and suffering. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The same number and quality of voters believed Robin Padilla is a good legislator thus they made him their No. 1 pick; Rodrigo Duterte could solve the problem on illegal drugs and criminality in six months; Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. would lower the price of rice to P20/kilo; Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada were innocent of plunder; Bong Go, Bato Dela Rosa, Manny Pacquiao were a lot better than Gibo Teodoro, Mar Roxas, Chel Dioko. And so on and so forth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It’s the Filipino voter who decides and has final say; and, as already proven on several modern times elections, he always goes for the underdog, the tart-tongued, the mediocre, the famous and showbiz star, the womanizer, the coup plotter, the soothsayer, the magician, the celebrity and sports hero, the spiritual guru and impostor, the advocate of “swift justice” or summary execution.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It shouldn’t surprise us anymore that Padilla defends Quiboly and considers the super rich spiritual leader as “hero.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It shouldn’t shock us anymore that Cynthia Villar thinks Quiboloy, a long-time family friend, is a “very decent” man and “innocent” of the accusations of rape, sex trafficking, etcetera.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It shouldn’t bewilder us anymore that Smiling Imee Marcos believes Quiboloy is the “victim” and not perpetrator of morally reprehensible crimes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It shouldn’t make us wonder that Bong Go, Duterte’s sidekick, agrees without much ado and says yes to Padilla to shield Quibiloy from being arrested for ignoring the senate invitation to appear in the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The volume of publicity generated by the constant and prolonged mention of Quiboloy’s name in the media these past weeks and months is enough to give him leverage and advantages in name recall, the most effective vehicle to win a public office in the Philippines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">RED PLANET. A large level of Iron Oxide gives Mars its reddish color; because of this color it was nicknamed the "red planet".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">HIGHS OF LOVE, SEX. The same chemical responsible for the ecstatic highs of love and sexual attraction, phenylethlamine, is also found in chocolate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">OPEN EYES. Fifty percent of men keep their eyes open when kissing. (Brigitte)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">QUIBOLOY OF AMERICA? Montana GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale announced March 8 he’ll be retiring at the end of this Congress amid "defamatory rumors" that he impregnated a 20-year-old staffer. "This has taken a serious toll on me and my family, " he said in a letter posted to X. "Additionally it has caused a serious disruption to the threat to the election of the next representative for MT-02."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span face=""Arial Nova", sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-53860455979366913052024-03-07T08:56:00.000-05:002024-03-07T11:10:52.713-05:00 I made eye-to-eye contact with ‘scion’ of Gen. Villa, the result was nearly fatal<p><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdOzYTCN-1UALl_OrMhkRdOiUZ5pkCbs-HXcz7Ph4s0x7f0IET39mKIvTY6fmmmxR7CpLuajlSPSPFqLKEPf9k0hnoQFLqSHgrRz9GMFLLMSSiWzmJfWqwYdp7ugyjC_WqT2MK5qwQudMjR-2-fPh4KQRXX-hkwWf_tODJVPxC_hKIfxHRKZNQxTs7iU/s1387/IMG_3323.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdOzYTCN-1UALl_OrMhkRdOiUZ5pkCbs-HXcz7Ph4s0x7f0IET39mKIvTY6fmmmxR7CpLuajlSPSPFqLKEPf9k0hnoQFLqSHgrRz9GMFLLMSSiWzmJfWqwYdp7ugyjC_WqT2MK5qwQudMjR-2-fPh4KQRXX-hkwWf_tODJVPxC_hKIfxHRKZNQxTs7iU/w185-h400/IMG_3323.jpeg" width="185" /></a></span></i></div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><br />“Violence has always been unfortunately embedded in masculinity, this alpha thing.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">—Sebastian Stan</span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A MAN who is reportedly the “great grandson” of Pancho Villa was apparently picking at random people he wanted to hurt with a steely chain whip when he chanced upon me in the gate on my way outside the apartment at past seven o’clock in the evening recently in Queens.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The muscular man, identified later as “Francisco Arango”, was either drunk, high on illegal substance, or a plain yahoo. Or both.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As he approached me, he couldn’t walk straight and was violently murmuring something in Spanish.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Because his feet could not sustain his unruly deportment, I feared the medium-built “Incredible Hulk” could be knocked down with a strong push by any heavier adversary.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Arango was holding with both his hands a heavy chain whip, “preparing” to smash it into my head without any apparent provocation when our eyesight accidentally collided. Nobody blinked.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">“Hello, good evening,” I told the amok nicely while preparing my legs to make a dash like Usain Bolt, just in case.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The wacko stopped talking and cancelled his homicidal attempt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The violent man allowed me to walk away. Thank God.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Back in my apartment room on second floor at past 11 o’clock in the evening, I heard a commotion downstairs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When I checked in the terrace, I saw the mad man chasing with the same deadly weapon a tall but sober person while engaging him in a shouting match. They both spoke in Spanish. Drugs and alcohol were probably still very much in control and Arango was wild, woolly and dangerous.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The victim managed to elude the attack using his own tantrums and quick feet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I went back to sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">At around past three o’clock in the morning, a more intense and boisterous commotion erupted anew. I was roused from sleep. I dashed to the terrace and saw Arango exchanging blows with another unidentified man (I have been a professional boxing referee and the action I saw downstairs was peanuts-- except it did not have the rules).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The chain whip wasn’t there anymore thus the slugfest was even.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">At one moment, Lou Ferrigno-look alike Arango, who could still be under the influence of alcohol and drugs, overpowered his foe.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But to his misfortune, another man joined the fray with intention to rescue Arango’s opponent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Fighting against four fists and four kicking legs, Arango was battered black and blue despite his superior built.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">A final kick delivered by the second person hit Arango’s chin and knocked him out cold like a sack of rambutans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">There were no police; no ambulance; no passersby; no witnesses other than myself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">It was like an elevated ringside view in a WWF bout.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I went back to sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I had no idea what happened to Arango, but I figured the punishment he absorbed that dawn was enough to land him in the emergency room.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Did he suffer from major injuries? Did the physical assault paralyze his body? Did he die from head injuries? No one knew.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I haven’t seen him for several weeks after that fatal fisticuff.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">To my surprise, Arango was alive and kicking. While I was on my way outside the apartment one morning days later, he was sitting outside; he saw me and opened the gate for me voluntarily.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Meek and ashen-looking, this time he avoided an eye-to-eye contact.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The erstwhile Eurasian wild boar has become a shy kitten.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">I learned that Arango is from Durango, Mexico and is the “great grandson” of Pancho Villa, born Doroteo Arango.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Pancho Villa was a Mexican revolutionary hero, a man of bold action with an uncanny sense of destiny whose exploits--whether actual or mythical, inherently good or evil--have become the stuff of legend.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As a general, Villa staged bold cavalry charges that overwhelmed his opponents even at great risk to his own life. He was very popular with the ladies (purportedly marrying 26 times) and loved to dance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">With the start of Mexican Revolution, Villa came down from the mountains to form an army in support of the populist platform espoused by Francisco Madero.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">He was assassinated by unknown persons while visiting the village of Parral in 1923.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">When Filipino boxer Francisco Guilledo made a debut in the United States in the same year, his handlers named him as “Pancho Villa.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Boxer Pancho Villa was an Ilonggo from Ilog (now Kabankalan), Negros Occidental who won the world flyweight title by knocking out Jimmy Wilde in the 7th round on June 18, 1923, at the Polo Grounds in New York City.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">He died on July 14, 1925 at 23 in San Francisco, California of tooth infection.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)</span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-68331235402866323762024-03-06T12:21:00.000-05:002024-03-06T12:21:22.801-05:00Iloilo can’t fight China<p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLI6f4y_ToJMpfgv92iUw6jQBCNoBFOY2ML1zPv0UHOmET3uINjI2ePHKzI5GqLTCcdn4N4qWbnP4m7nXaWmDLKDpE9RYAeyISWoQ5hB8fob7_vfm-PczHe69tJW9DEyqlsbdTLgA1VX3EnoBpYz0DiaRdZFx1vWQKFXH17Z-gb7O8cXSKx9yttbLjEi8/s960/IMG_3297.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="679" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLI6f4y_ToJMpfgv92iUw6jQBCNoBFOY2ML1zPv0UHOmET3uINjI2ePHKzI5GqLTCcdn4N4qWbnP4m7nXaWmDLKDpE9RYAeyISWoQ5hB8fob7_vfm-PczHe69tJW9DEyqlsbdTLgA1VX3EnoBpYz0DiaRdZFx1vWQKFXH17Z-gb7O8cXSKx9yttbLjEi8/s320/IMG_3297.jpeg" width="226" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><i>“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”</i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 24.533335px;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">— Ralph Waldo Emerson</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><i><b>By Alex P. Vidal</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">EACH day, tension between the Philippines and China is escalating because of the never-ending naval skirmishes in the disputed South China Sea that prompted Southeast Asian allies and the United States to issue solid statements rallying behind the Filipinos.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">But while the Philippine Government is openly expressing abhorrence toward China’s bullying, little animus can be felt among Ilonggos in Iloilo City and even the people in the neighboring cities and provinces.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Despite the standoff in the sea and fears of a widespread conflict, the strong ties between the Ilonggos and Filipino-Chinese traders have remained intact. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Filipino-Chinese businessmen almost control the Iloilo City economy in the same manner that the Jewish community controls the U.S. economy. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">There is a symbiotic relationship between Filipinos and China in that part of the Hiligaynon-speaking region; Calle Real in downtown Iloilo City Proper has been dominated by generations of <i>Tsinoy</i> (slang for Filipino-Chinese) entrepreneurs that dates back centuries ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Prominent Tsinoy leaders in the country have strong roots in Iloilo City and most of them maintain businesses that employ Ilonggos or utilize local manpower and resources. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Many parts and images of Iloilo are Chinese. Trade and industry, education, labor, sports, cultural activities, media, community and health services, are Chinese. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">One will think Iloilo City is part of China when a sea of red and yellow buntings and lanterns mushroom during the Chinese New Year Celebrations. Local leaders warmly welcome and embrace <i>Tsinoy</i> big shots like long-lost family members. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">In the event the Philippines will fight China (God forbid) beyond the diplomatic table and swapping of press statements and propaganda, Iloilo won’t and can’t go to the barracks. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Easier said than done but for most Ilonggos, self preservation or economic survival and long-established friendship and camaraderie are more important than geopolitics and waging a counterproductive war against the descendants of Kublai Khan and Emperor Zhao.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">Aside from the regular horror our vessels have been experiencing, the Spratly Islands dispute is also an ongoing territorial dispute between Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam concerning "ownership" of the Spratly Islands, a group of islands and associated "maritime features" (reefs, banks, and cays etc.) located in the South China Sea.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">U.S. FOR RP IN PRC ROW. The United States has issued a statement “standing with our ally the Philippines following the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) provocative actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea on March 5.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The statement, issued by the US Department of State, thus declared: <i>PRC ships employed dangerous maneuvers and water cannons against Philippine vessels carrying provisions to Filipino service members stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre, causing multiple collisions, damaging at least one Philippine vessel, injuring Filipino service members, and jeopardizing the safety of the Filipino crew. We condemn the PRC’s repeated obstruction of Philippine vessels’ exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and its disruption of supply lines to this longstanding outpost. </i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The PRC’s actions again show disregard for the safety and livelihoods of Filipinos and international law.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> According to an international tribunal’s legally binding decision issued in July 2016, the PRC has no lawful maritime claims to the waters around Second Thomas Shoal, and Second Thomas Shoal is a low tide feature clearly within the Philippines exclusive economic zone. </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">As provided under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, the 2016 arbitral decision is final and legally binding on the PRC and the Philippines, and the United States calls upon the PRC to abide by the ruling and desist from its dangerous and destabilizing conduct. </span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">THE 24-CARAT GOLD. Pure gold is known, in the jewelry trade, as 24-carat gold. This is too soft a metal for ordinary wear and tear, so a harder metal, generally copper, is alloyed with gold. If the alloy has 18 parts of gold and 6 parts of another metal, we call it 18-carat gold; if it has 14 parts of gold and 10 of another metal, we call it 14-carat gold, and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">LET'S HIRE A CARPENTER. Instead of spending lots of money on a new desk for our office, let us invest in some salvaged wood and paying a carpenter to make us one to measure--it will have the added advantage of fitting the space exactly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">THE USE OF HAVING TWO EYES. If we look at our room with one eye only, we will find that it looks much flatter than it does with two eyes. With two eyes we can see that the chair is n front of the desk, that the wastebasket is round and that the closet looks deep. Our eyes are set from about two to two and a half inches from each other--measuring from center to center.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.533335px;"> </span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814305737092728856.post-61276383727687077572024-03-05T10:38:00.000-05:002024-03-05T18:54:11.473-05:00Nerve-tingling Iloilo news I can’t forget<p><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6OZco1uTEVaDxMK2NM_jKQwGSnxDclFPPfAgnzOBJzvFZlyilf_N1vu_CjyvOn_Pyr3BYprstCZl1K3rCPkCNr07gehv5XuKhd1DkMH9dfU-GtEsJW-VAB4DkUX1VSzTHfL0wXihhWHuXPmIIJqLZzk2EW6Dv7Jzjw8EW98V54uX0Pk86OS7v9TrbFA/s1944/IMG_3289.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="1620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6OZco1uTEVaDxMK2NM_jKQwGSnxDclFPPfAgnzOBJzvFZlyilf_N1vu_CjyvOn_Pyr3BYprstCZl1K3rCPkCNr07gehv5XuKhd1DkMH9dfU-GtEsJW-VAB4DkUX1VSzTHfL0wXihhWHuXPmIIJqLZzk2EW6Dv7Jzjw8EW98V54uX0Pk86OS7v9TrbFA/s320/IMG_3289.jpeg" width="267" /></a></span></i></div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">“Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond.”</span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Roboto Condensed; font-size: x-large;">—Hunter S. Thompson</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><b><i>By Alex P. Vidal</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">ONE of the biggest and most unforgettable news we covered in Iloilo in the late 80s and early 90s was the spraying of water using a firetruck hose by the late Iloilo City mayor Rodolfo “Bagyo Roding” Ganzon of the combative city councilors, transforming into public bathroom the left portion (facing the Eagle Building) of the old Iloilo Freedom Grandstand in 1989.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The councilors, led by Rolando Dabao, Dan Dalido, German Gonzales, Larry Ong and Eduardo Peñaredondo and other bystanders, ended up literally drenched, their bravery had no match to Bagyo Roding’s fury.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">As Bagyo Roding singlehandedly held the firetruck hose with both hands and aimed it at the plucky aldermen, reporters, who gathered on Mapa St., watched with bated breath. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“Indi ya man ina pag papiswitan a. Pahugon ya lang na sila </span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">(No, he won’t pull the hose’s trigger. He only wants to threaten them),” the late Antonio “Tony” Laniog, reporting for the defunct dyBQ <i>Radyo</i> <i>Budyong</i>, quipped. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“Ano nga indi man. Ara gina uyatan ya na ho</span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> (I bet he will really hit them because the water hose is now in his grip),” remarked the late <i>dyFM Bombo Radyo Iloilo </i>reporter and future city councilor Armand Parcon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“Standby lang ta ara na sila gapalapit na</span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> (Let’s standby and watch as the group moves in),” the late Rene Porras of the defunct <i>dyRP Radyo Tagring </i>told<i> </i>driver-anchorman Tawtaw Cervantes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">-o0o-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Laniog was wrong; Parcon was right. As the city councilors approached the famed grandstand, Bagyo Roding frenziedly pulled the trigger and barked, “<i>Hijo deputa, wala kamo respeto sa rule of law</i> (Sanobabitch, you don’t have respect for the rule of law).” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">As the small delegation scampered into different directions, Gonzales, a former Martial Law inmate in the 70s, bemoaned, “<i>Ipaylan ka namon kaso. Ma kakas ka gid </i>(We will file a case and you’ll be removed from office).”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“Atras! Atras ta anay. Ga salig siya nga may dala siya bombero</span></i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> (Let’s retreat. He is being backed by a firetruck),” Ong, the source of all the trouble, appealed. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The feud between Bagyo Roding and the “rebels” started when the mayor confiscated Ong’s office key in the <i>Sangguniang Panglunsod. </i>Ong, who supported Bagyo Roding’s rival, Engr. Timoteo “Nene” Consing, Jr., for mayor in the previous election, decided to hold office at Plaza Libertad. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Together with fully armed security men, Bagyo Roding forcefully drove Ong, et al away from Plaza Libertad, thus the defiant Ong decided to hold office at the Freedom Grandstand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">However, before the group could reach the area, the determined Bagyo Roding ambushed them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">They filed charges of abuse of authority, intimidation, oppression, grave misconduct, disgraceful and immoral conduct, and culpable violation of the Constitution against Bagyo Roding.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">On May 3, 1990, then Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Luis T. Santos issued a preventive suspension against Bagyo Roding for another 60 days, the third time in 20 months, and designating Vice Mayor Mansueto “Mansing” Malabor as acting mayor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16pt;">-o0o-</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">INCOGNITO. The ancient Greeks and Romans knew that there were times when you didn't want to be recognized. For example, according to Merriam-Webster, a myth tells how Zeus and Hermes visited a village incognito and asked for lodging. The apparently penniless travelers were turned away from every household except that of a poor elderly couple named Baucis and Philemon, who provided a room and a feast despite their own poverty. The Romans had a word that described someone or something unknown (like the gods in the tale): incognitus, a term that is the ancestor of our modern incognito. Cognitus is the past participle of the Latin verb cognoscere, which means "to know" and which also gives us recognize, among other words.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">MARITES STORY FROM DAILY NEWS. Up until recently, Miley Cyrus “had no idea” about the wrecking ball effect her mother’s recent marriage to her younger sister’s ex-lover had on the once tight-knit clan. In August, Tish Cyrus, 56, married 54-year-old actor Dominic Purcell, who reportedly previously dated her 24-year-old daughter Noah Cyrus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">“Noah and Dominic were seeing each other in a friend with benefits way, off and on,” an unidentified source told People. The hunky “Prison Break” star and Noah Cyrus reportedly stopped seeing each other before her mother, whom the insider said was aware of the relationship, pursued Purcell.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Alex P. Vidalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458324011044263036noreply@blogger.com0