Murphy's Law and death at sea

“As per usual, trouble comes in several directions at once.”
--Garth Nix, Lirael

By Alex P. Vidal

SOME of the victims of the "Black Saturday" (August 3) Guimaras and Iloilo strait tragedy that killed 31 passengers from two motorboats, had been reportedly warned by relatives and other "concerned" individuals not to take the boat because of the bad weather.
If the victims didn't listen probably because some of them already had tickets and were already in the pre-departure area, wasn't it the obligation of the Philippine Coast Guard to stop the boat from sailing if the weather was showing signs of mayhem and doom?
The passengers would just obey and trust the motorboat captain and the crew the way airplane passengers obey and trust flight attendants and pilots.
If we have been warned of imminent danger lurking somewhere and we still insisted like Julius Caesar, who ignored the soothsayer who warned him to beware of the Ides of March while on his way into the Colosseum before he was murdered, it's because we allow ourselves (or, in the first place, can we resist it?) to be "governed" by Murphy's Law.
Murphy's Law, an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can be wrong will go wrong."
An addition to this law reads, "and usually at the worst time."

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A simple case of Murphy's Law is tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure.
Ninoy Aquino had been warned not to go back in the Philippines because of threats in his life, but he used the name "Marcial Bonifacio" to return and got murdered on the tarmac.
We are all, actually, can be subjected into Murphy's Law in different circumstances and method.
The mathematical statement of Murphy's Law, as used in scientific communities, according to a Physicist, is tremendously complex and the common form, "everything that can go wrong will", is reportedly fairly accurate and more than sufficient for most applications.
The Physicist insists that Murphy's Law is "certainly very real, and can even be measured qualitatively."
"However, it can't be anticipated or taken into account," the Physicist added. "We can only wait for terrible, unfortunate things to happen, and hope that they won't be too bad."

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Now that he is gone, many friends and admirers of the late former Iloilo City Mayor Mansueto "Mansing" Malabor are saying his shocking loss to Raul Gonzalez Jr. in the 2004 elections for Iloilo City's lone congressional district could be a "blessing in disguise."
If the Ilonggos succeeded in sending him to congress, some of them believed Malabor would not have the fire in his belly to sustain the hectic congressional activities that included regular sessions, travels abroad, and committee hearings since he was already 73 at that time.
Having served as Iloilo City for three consecutive terms or nine years straight, Malabor's forte was in the local government, where he was very effective as a "homebody" chief executive.
Malabor loved to hobnob with ordinary people in public markets, barangay halls and gymnasiums. He loved to get himself loaded with City Hall works and to stay most of the time in his beloved city.
Even if he was a lawyer, many of Malabor's friends and supporters thought lawmaking or the job of a legislator wasn't his real world, or the kind of work he would love doing with passion like the kind of passion and intensity he showed when he worked in the City Hall.
Gonzalez Jr. himself did not last in his position after he was blasted to bits in a stunning upset by now Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo "Jerry" Treñas in 2010.
Congressmen at that time were being slammed and ridiculed like crocodiles for being enamored to the scandalous "pork barrel" funds.
Malabor, who retired from politics with a solid reputation and clean name in public service, was spared from jeers and humiliation inflicted on the "tongressmen."
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Shocking sea mishap

“In all natural disasters through time, man needs to attach meaning to tragedy, no matter how random and inexplicable the event is.”
--Nathaniel Philbrick

By Alex P. Vidal

IN a tragedy, it is easy to shrug off the pain and melancholy if we lost only the material things such as cash or expensive valuables, which can still be replaced.
But if it involves the death of loved ones, their “untimely” passing in a horrific manner, it’s difficult to come to terms and accept what happened.
It jolts the entire community.
This is what many Ilonggos are going through nowadays following the death of 31 passengers who drowned when their motorboats capsized after being whipped by strong winds and big waves August 3 off Guimaras and Iloilo strait.
The motorboats Chi-Chi and Jenny Vince, carrying a total of 90 passengers, flipped over in sudden gusts of wind and powerful waves, according to the Philippine Coast Guard.
It’s the waste of many promising lives that makes the situation horrendous.
Those dead bodies recovered underneath the motorboats that turned upside down and washed away in Dumangas shore could be our own relatives--or even you and me.

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The number of casualties itself is shocking.
Some of the dead were trapped inside the motorboats that even if they were good swimmers, there was no chance they could survive.
We haven’t heard of a sea mishap of such magnitude that occurred anywhere in Western Visayas for a very long time.
The distance between Guimaras and Iloilo is supposed to be the “safest” for sea travelers since it takes them only about 15 to 20 minutes to cross from one island to another vice versa via a pumpboat.
Except if the weather is really bad and the visibility is zero, even an ordinary person can use banca and paddle his way to cross the strait.
Swimmer Martin Soriano of Carles, Iloilo and Rudy Fernandez of Ajuy, Iloilo could even cross Guimaras and Iloilo and back.

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We remember the late former Iloilo City Mayor Mansueto “Mansing” Malabor for his simplicity and unparalleled dedication in his job in the three terms that he served the Ilonggos: first term 1992-1995; second term 1995-1998; third and last term 1998-2001.
He was the only Iloilo City mayor who signed important papers handed to him even if he was inside the public market after office hours.
He was the only Iloilo City mayor who sat down with ordinary people and spent time with them in the coffee shops every morning (former Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III is also regularly seen in the Madge coffee shop in La Paz Public Market in the morning but he chooses his crowd).
He was the only Iloilo City mayor who did not have a wanderlust (his predecessor, Mayor Jerry Treñas, traveled a lot as part of his responsibilities and obligations as president of League of Cities of the Philippines during the time of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo).
Mayor Malabor never filed a single libel case against any critical journalist because, according to him, “deretso man nila ina nga mag atake sa akon ang importante wala kita may gina himu nga sala (it’s their right to criticize me; the most important is I am not doing anything wrong).”
He was the only Iloilo City mayor who built mini-gymnasiums in almost all of the 180 barangays.
He was not a perfect city mayor; he had weaknesses like the late Manila City Mayor Arsenio “Arsenic” Lacson, but Mayor Malabor was undeniably one of the best that served Iloilo City.
Even after he has retired from politics, he continued to serve the hoi polloi in whatever means.
Rest in peace, Mayor Mansing Malabor.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)