Not a one-man army

“The readiest and surest way to get rid of censure, is to correct ourselves.”
—Demosthenes

By Alex P. Vidal

DID Fr. Maximo Gatela, O.P., former school director of the Angelicum School Iloilo (ASIL), overlap the power of the school board when he solely issued a closure order for ASIL on May 27?
Was his immediate “resignation” an offshoot of the gaffe? 
This became apparent now after Gatela was overruled by the Board of Trustees which issued a “corrective statement” on May 29 recalling the notice of closure.   
ASIL, located in Tabuc Suba, Jaro, Iloilo City, will stay open, according to the school’s board of trustees, as reported by CBCPNews.
The statement, signed by the head of the Filipino Dominicans, Fr. Napoleon Sipalay, O.P., read: “The Board of Trustees, as well as the Provincial Council of the Dominican Province of the Philippines, didn’t approve any cessation of operation.”
If there is smoke, there is fire definitely.
Gatela’s “resignation” as director of Angelicum School Iloilo had been accepted.
The statement read further: “The Board of Trustees accepted the resignation of Fr. Maximo Gatela, O.P., as Director of Angelicum School, Inc., Jaro, Iloilo City.”
ASIL, which occupies the magnificent Lizares Mansion, was founded in 1978 by Fr. Rogelio Alarcon, O.P., first prior provincial of the Filipino Dominicans.
Before Gatela’s censure, members of the board probably decided that the COVID-19 pandemic “wasn’t enough reason” to justify the closure of the 42-year-old historic educational institution.  
Gatela, who cited “the difficulty that the COVID-19 has created” in his announcement for ASIL’s closure, wasn’t ASIL’s one-man army, after all.

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POTOTAN Councilor Paolo Magalona Guanco, one of the Iloilo convenors of Save Our Languages Through Federalism Foundation, Inc. (SOLFED), said the late Willie Andrew “The Devil” Branum had been amputated because of a disease two years before he died of cardiac arrest on May 26.  
Branum, 58, was a prominent political strategist who worked with former President Fidel V. Ramos as his Iloilo political organizer, and with former Senator Serge Osmena as the latter’s liaison field officer for Western Visayas.
According to Guanco, “Wille was a good friend of mine. We were both hispanophiles and we used to converse in Spanish during our drinking sessions. We both admire Gen. Francisco Franco. We both sang "Cara al Sol" together. We were both tobacco lovers. Our topics ranged from politics to history. He was a learned man, owning over a thousand books. There are even books in his bathroom! We were also both advocates of federalism for our country. The last time I saw him in his house, he had part of his foot cut off due to some disease. I likened him to Jose Millán Astray, the one armed, one-eyed founder of the Spanish Foreign Legion dubbed as the ‘Glorious mutilated one’. Farewell my friend. As we always said to each other before we parted ways, Hasta Luego, Mi Amigo!”

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The only difference between the 1992 riot and the ongoing violence that escalated in about 30 states (as of May 30) in the United States is that Rodney King Jr., the African American driver manhandled by four Los Angeles Police District (LAPD) cops on March 3, 1991, didn’t die.
The riot that erupted following the acquittal of the four white cops in April 1992, killed more than 50 people and injured 2,000 others. Estimated losses during the six-day violence and looting in Los Angeles reached $1 billion.
In the case of George Floyd, street rally and violence occurred a day after the spread of a viral video, where Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck while he was pleading, “I can’t breathe” for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
Floyd, 46, a forgery suspect, died in the hospital. 
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Vatican should ‘rescue’ Angelicum School

“Where human lives are concerned, time is always short, yet the world has witnessed the vast resources that governments can draw upon to rescue financial institutions deemed 'too big to fail.'”
—Pope Benedict XVI

By Alex P. Vidal

SOME people find the reason put forward behind the closure of Angelicum School Iloilo (ASIL) in Jaro, Iloilo City effective July 31, 2020 to be “too shallow” and wonder why the financially robust Roman Catholic hierarchy in Vatican “didn’t do something” to bail out the magnificent learning institution from dire straits.
If the reason for the closure is economics, the “problem” is a pittance given the whooping resources of the Roman Catholic Financial Empire based in Rome.
Its motto, “Caritas, Justitia, et Fortitudo (Charity, Justice, and Fortitude)” is very much identified with the slogan, principles, and spirit espoused by the Pope, thus it boggles the mind why the Vatican will allow one of the pillars of education in this part of the world to close shop without lifting a finger to save it. 
We are aware that the Roman Catholic hierarchy owns the Vatican Bank, which reportedly has about 33,000 accounts, a distribution network in more than 100 countries, and an estimated $8 billion in assets. 
Can’t the Vatican Bank, in the name of charity, justice, and fortitude play the role of a “Big Brother” to the embattled Angelicum School Iloilo?

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The Vatican Bank is officially called the Institute for the Works of Religion and is a privately held firm run by a CEO who reports to a committee of cardinals and the Pope.
It reportedly offers ATMs with transactions in Latin and boasts a small castle-like headquarters protected by Swiss Guards.
Though the Vatican reportedly admits most of the accounts belong to members of the clergy, the bank’s assets are not the property of the Holy See, but is considered a charitable foundation affiliated with the Vatican.
Definitely ASIL isn’t that big and heavy for any SOS from the Vatican.  
In his “ASIL’s ceasing of operation” notice addressed to “the Parents of ASIL students” dated May 27, 2020, School Director, Rev. Fr. Maximo P Gatela O.P. revealed he “expressed” on May 9, 2020 to the officers of the council of parents online “the difficulty that COVID-19 has created to ASIL.”

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“The experience of the 4th Grading Period was difficult for all of us,” Gr. Gatela explained. “The sad part was that ASIL was not ready and failed miserably in delivering the services.”
Gatela stressed: “As the situation of uncertainty continues, we cannot prolong the 4th grading experience throughout the whole school year nor keep you hanging in the air. Effective July 31, 2020, ASIL will cease operation.” 
We frequented the school during our high school days for sports activities in the 80s and were awed by the mansion’s Christmas lights especially during the "Daigon Slash Sigaboom."
Established in 1978 during the Martial Law years, ASIL, a former heritage house known as the Lizares Mansion, is arguably a sight to behold owing to its remarkable European renaissance designs in the façade, perhaps one of the most majestic campuses in Asia. 
We mourn ASIL’s scheduled departure—unless the Vatican will do something to save it from imminent doldrums.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)