"The only difference between suicide and martyrdom is press coverage."
--Chuck Palahniuk
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- The answer is yes.
There have been suicide cases where the persons shot themselves two times or even more before they were killed.
This happened when the first shot wasn't fatal and the person intending to kill himself got another chance to pull the trigger.
If the first shot isn't fatal, there may be cases where the person can still pull the trigger as he twitches due to muscle spasms caused by the disruption of communication between neurons.
It depends heavily on the angle of the barrel to the body or head and the caliber of the gun, which can be best explained by Iloilo police investigators who are the experts on this matter.
Arnel Rebeta, a DPWH district engineer in Antique in the Philippines, who was recently found dead inside his boarding house at Bankers’ Village subdivision, Barangay Dungon B, Jaro district with gunshot wounds on the chest and on the nape, could have killed himself, according to the initial investigation of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO)’s Special Investigation Task Force (SITF) headed by Superintendent Rogen Morales who faced reporters on July 18.
UNIQUE
An Australian who committed suicide on parkland in Canberra in February 1995 had the most unique method in killing himself.
He shot himself in the chest using a pump action shotgun. Without hitting a single rib, the load passed through his chest, and went out the other side.
Sensing he was alive, he pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head while walking for 15 meters.
He was still alive, thus he reloaded the shotgun, leaned it against his throat, and pulled the trigger, hittinf the throat and part of his jaw.
He survived anew.
He reloaded a final time and walked 200 meters to a hill. He sat down on the slope, held the gun against his chest with his hands and operated the trigger with his toes.
This time, the shot entered the thoracic cavity and punctured his heart. He died, finally.
-o0o-
Is there really a hell, heaven and purgatory litterally?
Religion tells us they exist.
Many independent thinkers and philosophers believe they don't exist literally.
One of them is lawyer-philosopher Ernie J. Dayot of Dingle, Iloilo in the Philippines, who exhorted this writer to read more about Italian poet Dante Alighiere or simply called "Dante."
In the book, Who's Who In The Middle Ages by Dr. John Fines I acquired from Barnes and Noble in Manhattan for $7.98, Dante was described as "a voracious reader of vernacular as well as classical literature, and he claimed to know the Aeneid by heart. He also studied painting and music."
Fines describes Dante further: "By 1287, he was at Bologna--possibly at the university, but his whole heart was set on poetry, and at this young age he dared to submit a sonnet for criticism to the leading poet of the age, Guido Cavalcanti. At the same time he led a rich social life, and (as was normal for young nobles of the time) twice appearing on the field of battle."
MAJOR WORK
Born in Florence in 1265, Dante's first major work was the Vita Nuova, a striking piece of self-psychologizing, set in the form of a critical exposition of his sonnets.
"These were concerned with his strange relationship with Beatrice, with whom he fell in love at the age of nine (she was only eigth). With all the devotion of Courtly Love that demanded purification through a kind of self-denial and worship usually accorded to the Divine, he pursued Beatrice with adoring glances, being rewarded with one famous salutation on the bridge," narrates Fines.
Dante's devotion, however, was obviously real, Fines adds, "for when she died in 1290 he changed his mode of life considerably in reaction."
Dante married and had children, and indulged in a certain amount of dissipation and free-thinking, which he much regretted in later years, according to Fines.
Dayot says religion copied the theory of hell, heaven and purgatory in Dante's long narrative poem, Divine Comedy.
The Divine Comedy is composed of 14,233 lines that are divided into three canticas (Italian plural cantiche) – Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise) – each consisting of 33 canots (Italian plural canti).
An initial canor, serving as an introduction to the poem and generally considered to be part of the first cantica, brings the total number of cantos to 100.
It is generally accepted, however, that the first two cantos serve as a unitary prologue to the entire epic, and that the opening two cantos of each cantica serve as prologues to each of the three canticas.
Showing posts with label #Antique. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Antique. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Poor showing in Palaro alarming
"Sports do not build character. They reveal it."
--Heywood Broun
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- There seems to be no real challenges and rivalries among the Philippines' young athletes today.
Their lead in the official medal tally as of this writing shows that National Capital Region (NCR) athletes are poised to again wrap up the 2017 Palarong Pambansa in San Jose, Antique.
As hosts, athletes from the Western Visayas Regional Athletics Association (WVRAA) are supposed to dominate the annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from the Philippines' 18 regions.
It's not about which sports regional associations finished first, second or last. It's about the disparity in the medals won. It's about which athletes broke most of the national records.
And it appeared to be an all-NCR show in as far as the number of gold, silver, and bronze medals that have been, so far, collected, is concerned.
This is not a good sign if we aim to use the event as recruitment hub for future members of the RP Team in the SEA Games, Asian Games, and the World Olympic Games.
TALENTS
Submission of talents for the national team to be financed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and governed by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) should be democratic or should come from the cross-section of the country.
Athletic forces must be shared by regions nationwide through equal opportunities in building of more facilities and grassroots training and development programs.
As of April 26, 2017, or two days before the culmination of the week-long competitions with a motto, "Converges Youth Power; builds sustainable future," NCR has amassed 50 golds, 27 silvers, and 20 bronzes as against the 14-7-11 (G-S-B) collections of would-be second placer WVRAA.
Negros Island Region (NIRAA), with 10-11-11 (G-S-B) was breathing neck and neck with Cordillera Administrative Region (CARAA), with 10-8-7 (G-S-B).
HAUL
Most of NCR's gold medal haul came in swimming, where most tankers trained in world-class or Olympic-sized pools in Metro Manila.
Records were mostly shattered in the pools.
The Ilonggos were still deadly in track and field, but CARAA runners proved to be the track oval head turners in the games that started in 1948 as the Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletics Association Games or BPISAA before it became a Palarong Pambansa.
It looked like WVRAA and other regions needed to modify and reinvigorate their grassroots programs in swimming and should not focus heavily on track and field and other ball games.
OBJECTIVES
Article XIV, Section 19 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates the holding of the Palarong Pambansa with the following objectives:
-Physical Education and sports as an integral part of the Basic Education curriculum for holistic development of the youth;
-Inculcate the spirit of discipline, teamwork, excellence, fair play, solidarity, sportsmanship, and other values inherent in sports;
-Promote and achieve peace by means of sports;
-Widen the base for talent identification, selection, recruitment, training and exposure of elementary pupils and secondary students to serve as a feeder to the National Sports Association (NSA) for international competitions; and
-Provide a database for a valid and universal basis to further improve the school sports development programs.
--Heywood Broun
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- There seems to be no real challenges and rivalries among the Philippines' young athletes today.
Their lead in the official medal tally as of this writing shows that National Capital Region (NCR) athletes are poised to again wrap up the 2017 Palarong Pambansa in San Jose, Antique.
As hosts, athletes from the Western Visayas Regional Athletics Association (WVRAA) are supposed to dominate the annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from the Philippines' 18 regions.
It's not about which sports regional associations finished first, second or last. It's about the disparity in the medals won. It's about which athletes broke most of the national records.
And it appeared to be an all-NCR show in as far as the number of gold, silver, and bronze medals that have been, so far, collected, is concerned.
This is not a good sign if we aim to use the event as recruitment hub for future members of the RP Team in the SEA Games, Asian Games, and the World Olympic Games.
TALENTS
Submission of talents for the national team to be financed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and governed by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) should be democratic or should come from the cross-section of the country.
Athletic forces must be shared by regions nationwide through equal opportunities in building of more facilities and grassroots training and development programs.
As of April 26, 2017, or two days before the culmination of the week-long competitions with a motto, "Converges Youth Power; builds sustainable future," NCR has amassed 50 golds, 27 silvers, and 20 bronzes as against the 14-7-11 (G-S-B) collections of would-be second placer WVRAA.
Negros Island Region (NIRAA), with 10-11-11 (G-S-B) was breathing neck and neck with Cordillera Administrative Region (CARAA), with 10-8-7 (G-S-B).
HAUL
Most of NCR's gold medal haul came in swimming, where most tankers trained in world-class or Olympic-sized pools in Metro Manila.
Records were mostly shattered in the pools.
The Ilonggos were still deadly in track and field, but CARAA runners proved to be the track oval head turners in the games that started in 1948 as the Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletics Association Games or BPISAA before it became a Palarong Pambansa.
It looked like WVRAA and other regions needed to modify and reinvigorate their grassroots programs in swimming and should not focus heavily on track and field and other ball games.
OBJECTIVES
Article XIV, Section 19 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates the holding of the Palarong Pambansa with the following objectives:
-Physical Education and sports as an integral part of the Basic Education curriculum for holistic development of the youth;
-Inculcate the spirit of discipline, teamwork, excellence, fair play, solidarity, sportsmanship, and other values inherent in sports;
-Promote and achieve peace by means of sports;
-Widen the base for talent identification, selection, recruitment, training and exposure of elementary pupils and secondary students to serve as a feeder to the National Sports Association (NSA) for international competitions; and
-Provide a database for a valid and universal basis to further improve the school sports development programs.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Antique embraces spirit of Olympism
"Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game."
--Michael Jordan
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Hosting the 2017 Palarong Pambansa has catapulted Antique into the elite rank of Philippine provinces that have embraced the spirit of Olympism.
From the ranks of wet-behind-the-ear youngsters representing 18 regions nationwide will rise the country's next aspirants for world Olympic Games, the biggest global sporting event which originated in ancient Greece 3,000 years ago.
As we very well know, Palarong Pambansa is the precursor of bigger sports competitions where our world-class athletes are spotted, chosen, and trained to represent the country in the Southeast (SEA) Games, Asian Games, World Cup, Inter-Continental Games, and the World Olympic Games.
The Philippines is one of the only few Southeast Asian countries that have not won an Olympic gold medal since the first modern Olympics took place in 1896 in Athens, where 280 participants from 13 nations, competing in 43 events were featured.
Since 1994, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games have been held separately and have alternated every two years.
From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., the Games were held every four years in Olympia, located in the western Peloponnese peninsula, in honor of the god Zeus.
GOLD
With the participation of some of the country's finest and promising athletes in Binirayan Sports Complex in San Jose, Antique, we expect the first future Olympic gold medalist from the Philippines to emerge in the 2017 Palarong Pambansa.
The spirit of Olympism is the key. Big or small sporting competitions in any locality, Olympism promotes the sport for hope, which is a joint initiative between the International Olympic Committee, its Olympic Movement stakeholders and the local governments.
It aims to provide young people and local communities with positive sports development opportunities, offer state-of-the-art training facilities to the National Federations and the athletes of the country, and spread the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. Sport for Hope Centres may also serve as platforms for social development and innovative cooperation to contribute to a better and more peaceful world through sport.
A Sport for Hope Center may be established in Antique after the staging of the Palarong Pambansa.
SEMINAR
In 1991, then Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Commissioner Celso Dayrit propagated the spirit of Olympism among sports leaders in Iloilo City in a seminar attended by this writer.
Dayrit emphasized that the spirit of Olympism can emanate even in grassroots competitions like the Palarong Pambansa.
First espoused by the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pier de Coubertin, Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind.
Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.
The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
--Michael Jordan
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Hosting the 2017 Palarong Pambansa has catapulted Antique into the elite rank of Philippine provinces that have embraced the spirit of Olympism.
From the ranks of wet-behind-the-ear youngsters representing 18 regions nationwide will rise the country's next aspirants for world Olympic Games, the biggest global sporting event which originated in ancient Greece 3,000 years ago.
As we very well know, Palarong Pambansa is the precursor of bigger sports competitions where our world-class athletes are spotted, chosen, and trained to represent the country in the Southeast (SEA) Games, Asian Games, World Cup, Inter-Continental Games, and the World Olympic Games.
The Philippines is one of the only few Southeast Asian countries that have not won an Olympic gold medal since the first modern Olympics took place in 1896 in Athens, where 280 participants from 13 nations, competing in 43 events were featured.
Since 1994, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games have been held separately and have alternated every two years.
From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., the Games were held every four years in Olympia, located in the western Peloponnese peninsula, in honor of the god Zeus.
GOLD
With the participation of some of the country's finest and promising athletes in Binirayan Sports Complex in San Jose, Antique, we expect the first future Olympic gold medalist from the Philippines to emerge in the 2017 Palarong Pambansa.
The spirit of Olympism is the key. Big or small sporting competitions in any locality, Olympism promotes the sport for hope, which is a joint initiative between the International Olympic Committee, its Olympic Movement stakeholders and the local governments.
It aims to provide young people and local communities with positive sports development opportunities, offer state-of-the-art training facilities to the National Federations and the athletes of the country, and spread the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. Sport for Hope Centres may also serve as platforms for social development and innovative cooperation to contribute to a better and more peaceful world through sport.
A Sport for Hope Center may be established in Antique after the staging of the Palarong Pambansa.
SEMINAR
In 1991, then Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Commissioner Celso Dayrit propagated the spirit of Olympism among sports leaders in Iloilo City in a seminar attended by this writer.
Dayrit emphasized that the spirit of Olympism can emanate even in grassroots competitions like the Palarong Pambansa.
First espoused by the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pier de Coubertin, Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind.
Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.
The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Duterte appoints new Iloilo, Negros judges
"I love judges, and I love courts. They are my ideals, that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God."
--William Howard Taft
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If I were House Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez, I would refrain from further humiliating detained Senator Leila De Lima.
In his most recent media conference, the former cabinet official of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo lambasted De Lima calling her as the "No. 1 drug lord in the Philippines."
True or not, in our culture we don't kick somebody who is already down.
Especially a woman.
We never heard the same level of vitriol and angry words from past speakers like Nicanor Yñiguez, Ramon Mitra Jr., Jose De Venecia, Arnulfo Fuentebella, and Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
.-o0o-
President Duterte has appointed the following judges for the islands of Panay and Negros:
-Daniel Antonio Gerardo S. Amular (RTC Branch 35, Iloilo City);
-Oscar Leo S. Billena (RTC Branch 70 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Jose E. Mauricio E. Gomez (RTC Branch 71 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Nelita Jesusa Arboleda-Bacaling (RTC Branch 72 Guimbal, Iloilo);
-Gemalyn Faunillo-Tarol (RTC Branch 76, Janiuay, Iloilo);
-Ernesto L. Abijay, Jr. (RTC Branch 10 San Jose, Antique);
-Josefina Fulo-Muego (RTC Branch 13 Culasi, Antique);
-Phoebe A. Gargantiel-Balbin (RTC Branch 45 Bacolod City, Negros Occidental);
-Edwin B. Gomez (RTC Branch 77 Sipalay City, Negros Occidental);
-Gwendolyn I. Jimenea-Tiu (RTC Branch 60 Cadiz City, Negros Occidental);
-Reginald M. Fuentebella (RTC Branch 73 Sagay City, Negros Occidental);
-Mila D. Yap-Camiso (RTC Branch 74 La Carlota City, Negros Occidental);
-Gertrude Belgica Jiro (MTC Dumangas, Iloilo);
-Kathryn Rose A. Hitalia-Baliatan (MTC Miag-ao, Iloilo);
-Meliza Joan Berano Robite (MTCC Branch 2 Iloilo City);
-Larnie Fleur B. Palma-Kim (MTCC Branch 6, Iloilo City);
-Mark Anthony D.R. Polonan (MTCC Branch 8, Iloilo City);
-Rysty Ann C. Espinosa-Borja (MTCC Branch 9, Iloilo City);
-Joan Marie B. Bargas-Betita (3rd MCTC Malinao-Lezo-Numancia, Aklan);
-Maria Fe Macabales-Taal (3rd MCTC Patnongon-Bugasong-Valderrama, Antique);
-Joevy Paclibar Velnzuela (5th MCTC Sigma-Sapian-Jamindan, Capiz);
-Kathleen Gigante Delantar (MTCC Branch 2 Roxas City, Capiz);
-Jeeli Panaguiton Espinosa (2nd MCTC Buenavista-San Lorenzo, Guimaras);
-Bienvenido B. Llanes Jr. (MTC Pontevedra, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Meno C. Ruiz (MTCC Escalante City, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Manuel A. Lopez (MTCC Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental); and
-Maria Concepcion Elumba Rivera (MTCC, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental).
-o0o-
WE can't blame Mayor Alex Centena of Calinog, Iloilo if his presence has been sorely missed in important gatherings like the League of Municipalities.
Ever since President Duterte mentioned Centena's name as among those allegedly included in narco-politics, the dashing former chair of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) during the Marcos years has reportedly refused to join in various social and political events in Iloilo.
"He has become security conscious," noticed a former broadcaster from Cabatuan, Iloilo, who is familiar with Centena's activities during the halcyon years.
"The mayor stays in his safe house most of the time and his whereabouts can't be ascertained even by some of his municipal staff in regular days and during weekend."
WEIGHT
He became reclusive and lost weight, the former broadcaster added.
Centena have reportedly cancelled all his out-of-town commitments and refused interviews with reporters who come to Calinog.
Duterte has threatened to kill those involved in trafficking and manufacturing of illegal drugs, including some local government executives.
More than 7,000 have been killed nationwide since the Duterte administration launched the "Oplan Tokhang" against known drug pushers and users.
Centena has repeatedly denied links to any drug lord, but admitted slain Iloilo City-based drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr. once visited his house where he maintains a mini-zoo.
--William Howard Taft
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If I were House Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez, I would refrain from further humiliating detained Senator Leila De Lima.
In his most recent media conference, the former cabinet official of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo lambasted De Lima calling her as the "No. 1 drug lord in the Philippines."
True or not, in our culture we don't kick somebody who is already down.
Especially a woman.
We never heard the same level of vitriol and angry words from past speakers like Nicanor Yñiguez, Ramon Mitra Jr., Jose De Venecia, Arnulfo Fuentebella, and Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
.-o0o-
President Duterte has appointed the following judges for the islands of Panay and Negros:
-Daniel Antonio Gerardo S. Amular (RTC Branch 35, Iloilo City);
-Oscar Leo S. Billena (RTC Branch 70 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Jose E. Mauricio E. Gomez (RTC Branch 71 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Nelita Jesusa Arboleda-Bacaling (RTC Branch 72 Guimbal, Iloilo);
-Gemalyn Faunillo-Tarol (RTC Branch 76, Janiuay, Iloilo);
-Ernesto L. Abijay, Jr. (RTC Branch 10 San Jose, Antique);
-Josefina Fulo-Muego (RTC Branch 13 Culasi, Antique);
-Phoebe A. Gargantiel-Balbin (RTC Branch 45 Bacolod City, Negros Occidental);
-Edwin B. Gomez (RTC Branch 77 Sipalay City, Negros Occidental);
-Gwendolyn I. Jimenea-Tiu (RTC Branch 60 Cadiz City, Negros Occidental);
-Reginald M. Fuentebella (RTC Branch 73 Sagay City, Negros Occidental);
-Mila D. Yap-Camiso (RTC Branch 74 La Carlota City, Negros Occidental);
-Gertrude Belgica Jiro (MTC Dumangas, Iloilo);
-Kathryn Rose A. Hitalia-Baliatan (MTC Miag-ao, Iloilo);
-Meliza Joan Berano Robite (MTCC Branch 2 Iloilo City);
-Larnie Fleur B. Palma-Kim (MTCC Branch 6, Iloilo City);
-Mark Anthony D.R. Polonan (MTCC Branch 8, Iloilo City);
-Rysty Ann C. Espinosa-Borja (MTCC Branch 9, Iloilo City);
-Joan Marie B. Bargas-Betita (3rd MCTC Malinao-Lezo-Numancia, Aklan);
-Maria Fe Macabales-Taal (3rd MCTC Patnongon-Bugasong-Valderrama, Antique);
-Joevy Paclibar Velnzuela (5th MCTC Sigma-Sapian-Jamindan, Capiz);
-Kathleen Gigante Delantar (MTCC Branch 2 Roxas City, Capiz);
-Jeeli Panaguiton Espinosa (2nd MCTC Buenavista-San Lorenzo, Guimaras);
-Bienvenido B. Llanes Jr. (MTC Pontevedra, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Meno C. Ruiz (MTCC Escalante City, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Manuel A. Lopez (MTCC Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental); and
-Maria Concepcion Elumba Rivera (MTCC, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental).
-o0o-
WE can't blame Mayor Alex Centena of Calinog, Iloilo if his presence has been sorely missed in important gatherings like the League of Municipalities.
Ever since President Duterte mentioned Centena's name as among those allegedly included in narco-politics, the dashing former chair of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) during the Marcos years has reportedly refused to join in various social and political events in Iloilo.
"He has become security conscious," noticed a former broadcaster from Cabatuan, Iloilo, who is familiar with Centena's activities during the halcyon years.
"The mayor stays in his safe house most of the time and his whereabouts can't be ascertained even by some of his municipal staff in regular days and during weekend."
WEIGHT
He became reclusive and lost weight, the former broadcaster added.
Centena have reportedly cancelled all his out-of-town commitments and refused interviews with reporters who come to Calinog.
Duterte has threatened to kill those involved in trafficking and manufacturing of illegal drugs, including some local government executives.
More than 7,000 have been killed nationwide since the Duterte administration launched the "Oplan Tokhang" against known drug pushers and users.
Centena has repeatedly denied links to any drug lord, but admitted slain Iloilo City-based drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr. once visited his house where he maintains a mini-zoo.
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