Speaker Alvarez is a bad influence to Ilonggos

“One of the most deadly causes of destruction of divine destinies is when a leader is failing, but he or she does not know it. Ignorance about your role is a death plot against people's successes.”
― Israelmore Ayivor

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If I were a politician in the Philippines seeking reelection or higher elective position on May 14, 2019, I would avoid national leaders like House Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez.
The likes of Alvarez are morally unfit to lead the Filipinos; they are a bad influence and aren’t good role models for the youth.
Alvarez, 60, who is married to Emelita Apostol Alvarez, the current head of the Congressional Spouses Foundation, did not only defend his extramarital affair with one Jennifer Maliwanag Vicencio, he also “justified” it in public as if it’s a badge of honor.
Ilonggos and their leaders may not be perfect and immaculate, but they know the bounds of decency and indecency; they are cultured and educated in the best universities; and they venerate women as symbols of virtue and epitomes of chastity and courtesy.

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The representative from Davao del Norte, one of the big bosses of the ruling PDP-Laban party, also slut-shamed detained Sen. Leila de Lima for her romance with her driver during a House hearing in November 2017.
He is the same political leader being adored by traditional politicians in many parts of the Philippines who want to remain in power beyond 2019.
He is the same “Speaker Alvarez” being glorified by power-seekers and applicants for higher government positions owing to his closeness to President Rodrigo R. Duterte (although the president has been asserting he will never tolerate this) and for his lofty position in the PDP-Laban.
Every time he was in Iloilo or in Western Visayas, city and provincial incumbent and aspiring officials were in mad scramble to get his attention; they wanted to woo his blessings to anoint certain candidates for the next elections.

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In other words, these Ilonggo politicians are “worshiping” a false political god; they are barking--for “blessings” and campaign moola--at the poisonous and sinful tree.
Ilonggos, who are educated and decent, should reject politicians who glorify Alvarez, et al like they are demigods.
Alvarez and other hackneyed and dirty politicians are not the prototypical answers to the Filipino people’s most fundamental problems.
The Ilonggos, or the Filipinos for that matter, don’t need politicians as bond aides to solve their immediate needs, but leaders with economic and spiritual visions who can truly lead with dignity and inspiration.
We should eschew politicians who are vexatious to the nation’s soul and those with a convoluted sense of machismo and misplaced braggadocio.

Iloilo always survives

“We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.”
--Dalai Lama

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- In every economic and political upheaval in the Philippines, Ilonggos always survived since time immemorial.
When political situation turns wild and woolly and deteriorates in Metro Manila, the Ilonggos are unfazed; capitol and city hall officials offer their shoulders for one another to lean on.
This has happened during the turbulent moments of administrations before and after the EDSA revolution.
When natural calamity hit the country, Ilonggos are ready lock, stock, and barrel for any emergency assistance in terms of manpower, goods, and food supply.
Ilonggos are deeply religious and they attribute every thing that provides them relief and comfort to the Divine Providence.
Also, unlike other elected officials in the Philippines who justify immorality -- and even paraded their inamoratas in public -- Iloilo city and province have been blessed with mostly “morally upright” leaders.
We remember 18 years ago in a speech during the “Kruzada Kontra Sa Druga” at the Iloilo Amphitheater on September 14, 1999, Gov. Art Defensor warned the Ilonggos that a country, a territory, a city or province, can only deteriorate if it is already in the threshold of moral shambles.
Defensor was talking about the period of the Principate, which was the age of moral decay in the Roman Civilization.

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Divorce among upper classes was so common as to be scarcely a matter of remark.
According to the records, there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome during the reign of Trajan, and, judging from the testimony of some of the most famous writers, homosexuality was exceedingly common and even fashionable.
While political corruption had been subjected to more stringent control, crimes of violence appear to have increased.
This was the period when shabu and other illegal drugs weren’t yet common.
Moral indictment became serious which can be brought against the age.
It was the further growth of the passion for cruelty; the great games and spectacle became bloodier and more disgusting than ever before.

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The Romans could no longer obtain a sufficient thrill from mere exhibitions of athletic prowess; even pugilists were required to have their hands wrapped with tongs of leather loaded with iron or lead.
The most popular amusement of all was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum or in the other amphitheaters capable of accommodating thousands of spectators.
Most of the gladiators were condemned criminals or slaves, but some were volunteers even from the respectable classes.
The Princeps Commondus, the worthless son of Marcus Aurelius, entered the arena several times for the sake of the plaudits of the mob.

Ilonggos in Guam unfazed by Nokor threat

"America must be a light to the world, not just a missile."
--Nancy Pelosi

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Families of Ilonggos living in Guam have expressed serious concern after it was reported that North Korea has threatened to launch missles in that US territory located roughly 2,500 kilometers from Manila, Philippines.
"I worry a lot for my uncles, my sisters and their families," remarked Lourdes Saloma-Buck of Bridgeport, Connecticut. "Where will they seek refuge just in case North Korea attacks Guam?"
Saloma-Buck, 57, grew up in Iloilo City, Philippines. She has relatives in Guam's major cities of Dededo, Agana Heights, Talofofo, Yona, and Agat.
She said some of them also fear for their safety but are adamant to leave Guam, with a population of a little more than 162,000 "unless extremely necessary."
She has been in constant contact with relatives ever since news broke out that Pyongyang has threatened to attack Guam, a Pacific island, as it is at loggerheads with the US over Nokor's nuclear missile programs.
Cynthia Jaen of Brooklyn said her relatives in Santa Rita, Guam are unfazed.

CONFIDENT

Jaen, who grew up in Buntatala, Leganes, Iloilo and had also stayed for several years in Guam, said "Ilonggos in Santa Rita are confident President Donald Trump won't allow any untoward incident to occur in Guam where the president has large followers."
"It's normal to fear for their safety but they aren't panicky," Jaen explained. "They continue to monitor the developments on TV and internet and are confident Washington will be able to handle the situation properly."
Ilonggos from Iloilo City in the Philippines comprise the largest community in Guam, according to lawyer Pascual "Junie" Espinosa, Jr.
Espinosa's late father, Rep. Pascual "Pat" Sr., was chiefly responsible for bringing the first batches of Ilonggo workers to Guam, destined to become the largest US military base west of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii after World War II.
A years after V-J Day, a number of significant changes occurred to the war-torn.
The highest priority was to reconstruct Guam as a strategic forward base to monitor Asian decolonization. In February 1946, the Construction Contracts Marianas, a military office designated to construct all military facilities in the Marianas, was created as a joint venture with civilian construction companies, according Guampedia's "Filipino Migration to Guam 1945--1975".

BREAKWATER

It added: "In addition to constructing the Apra Harbor breakwater, their task was reportedly to provide engineering services for basic infrastructure needs (water, power, road systems, and healthcare) and to rebuild the island’s capital.
"To resolve what the military believed to be a chronic shortage of labor, the US Embassy in Manila and the newly independent government of the Republic of the Philippines in May 1947 negotiated an agreement for “the recruitment and employment of Philippine citizens by the US military forces and its contractors in the Pacific, including Guam.”
"Following the 1947 agreement, Brown-Pacific-Maxon Construction Company (BPM) and Luzon Stevedoring Corporation (Luzdelco) were authorized to import Filipino labor from Manila and its surrounding provinces to provide support construction services for Andersen Air Force Base in northern Guam.
"The Guam Naval Supply Depot permitted the Marianas Stevedoring and Development Company (Masdelco) to contract employment from Iloilo and other Visayan islands of the central Philippines.
"Masdelco was a subsidiary of Luzdelco and based in the Agat-Santa Rita area of southern Guam. The initial bulk of Filipino laborers were recruited from Iloilo.
"All had to undergo rigorous clearance and background checks by the US Navy and Federal Bureau of Investigation before being admitted to Guam on a one-year labor contract subject to renewal for up to three years."