The Marcos who doesn’t think

“Boxing is not about your feelings. It's about performance.” Manny Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

When we hear the name Marcos, two things immediately come to our mind: Martial Law and brilliancy.

The late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos was known both as a brilliant orator and as a leader of the most hated regime that lasted for 20 years.

But he was a thinking president; perhaps, one of the most intelligent presidents to ever serve the country.

That was the secret of his staying power.

There was another Marcos whose name reverberated all over the sporting world last September 14.

This Marcos, 31, is otherwise known as “Rene Maidana” of Margarita, Santa Fe, Argentina. He is known in the boxing world as Marcos “El Chino” Maidana.

He is the Marcos who does not think.

Awarded with a once-in-a-lifetime rematch against boxing’s most charismatic personality, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) blew away a second chance to become the first man to beat the 37-year-old black tornado, who cruised to a 12-round unanimous decision--John McKaie, 116-111; Dave Moretti, 116-111; Guido Cavalleri, 115-112--in their championship tiff at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

TEETH

Instead of using his brains, Marcos Maidana used his teeth in desperation in the 8^th canto to bite Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs).

It’s good the referee did not disqualify him for doing a Mike Tyson on Mayweather.

Early in the bout where they disputed the three baubles: WBC welterweight, WBC light middleweight, WBA super world welterweight, the five feet and eight inches Mayweather made sure Maidana could not anymore trap him on the ropes like in their first bout on May 3, 2014 on the same arena.

So accommodating was Mayweather in their first duel that he allowed Maidana to come near him they almost had a kissing scene from first to the 12^th stanza.    

Mayweather’s laxity in the first battle nearly cost him his unblemished record en route to escaping with a majority decision win--Dave Moretti, 116-112; Burt A. Clements, 117-111; Michael Pernick 114-114.

Although Mayweather spent the night eluding Maidana’s heavy-loaded uppercuts and maximizing his signature lateral movements, the tattooed Argentine brawler failed to introduce a new strategy that would convince his fans he deserved a third match should the fight ended in another hairline win for the loud-mouthed American champion.

FIRST

Like in their first meeting, Maidana could not send home a combination and missed several shots in the midsection.

It was also a failure for Maidana’s headhunting binge. 

Maidana wanted to brawl; Mayweather wanted to dance and uncork crisp punches side by side, fully aware that he needed to widen his lead in the scorecards if no knockout would come.

They had a mismatch even in the tune and the calisthenics.

Both their work rates were not as intense as in their first fracas in May this year where Maidana became the first fighter to inflict a wound on Mayweather’s right eyebrow with a legitimate punch.

The majority decision win in their first showdown also boosted loser Maidana’s stock and put a big question mark on Mayweather's capacity to absorb a punishment from never-say-die fighters like Oxnard-trained Maidana.

The unanimous decision win last September 14 stretched Mayweather’s victory without a knockout to five.

THREE YEARS

His last KO win came three years ago when he pulverized in four Victor Ortiz for the WBC 147-lb diadem on the same ring.

Mayweather’s not-so-impressive triumph in the Maidana rematch had the tell-tale signs of tiredness and weariness.

When he faces Manny Pacquiao (56-5, 38 KOs) in 2015 according to the grapevine, Mayweather will be up against the faster version of Marcos Maidana. He can still run yes, but he won’t be able to hide.

Pacquiao, 35, must first tackle tall Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) for the 12-round WBO welterweight championship in Macao on November 22, 2014.

A loss to Algieri will further dampen the dream match against Mayweather.

But since the Filipino congressman-cum-boxer and professional basketball coach is expected to walk over the inexperienced Algieri, there’s no stopping now for boxing’s two toughest senior citizens to finally meet in 2015 for boxing’s biggest and most expensive promotion in history.

Spare the girls, Mrs. Monfort-Bautista!

“Who would have known that this seed of innovation would grow, and carry to so many millions of kids who have participated since its creation? Little League, a simple idea has grown, multiplied and become an international institution.” Dave Winfield

By Alex P. Vidal

It’s been three weeks since our softball players from Zarraga, Iloilo came home from the 2014 Little League Softball (baseball) World Series in the United States, but the Iloilo provincial board, or any government agency for that matter, has not yet recognized their efforts and those of their coaches and mentors.

Although they failed to win the championships in Portland, Oregon last August 7-13 and in Kirkland, Washington last August 10-16, the girls, mostly below 18, ably represented the Asia Pacific Region despite coming for the twin tournaments late.

Because they forfeited their first matches, the softbelles finished by the wayside (not 10^th or last as we wrote earlier).

Delegation chief, Dr. Myrna Castillo, DepEd-Iloilo division superintendent, blamed the delay of their arrival in the United States to the late release of their visas.

Battling a jetlag, the girls immediately buckled down to work as soon as they arrived and wrapped up their remaining matches, it was learned.

Lady luck wasn’t on their side as they lost one game after another en route to a dismal campaign.

FAIL

Even if they failed to bring home any trophy or medal, the Ilonggo girls made us all proud as representatives of not only the Philippines but the entire Asia Pacific in the Little League World Series, which incidentally is on its 75^th year.

If they were Cubans, Chinese or Guamanians, the girls would have been given the red carpet welcome despite their dismal performances.

Even socialist and communist regimes like Fidel Castro’s Cuba celebrate the defeats of their athletes. 

No blaming game. No finger-pointing.

In the World Series, what counts most is the teams’ presence in the prestigious gathering of softball players—seniors and juniors—from Asia-Pacific, Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Europe-Africa, Japan, Latin America, and Mexico.  

The teams’ participation is more of a commitment to promote and establish international goodwill, peace and camaraderie rather than counting of trophies and medals.  

The Zarraga girls and their coaches left and arrived in the Philippines in cognito. 

No frills and fusillades of publicity.

But instead of being cited for their gallantry, they or their coaches and other delegation members will be summoned for investigation in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board) committee on youth and sports development.

FIASCO

Their trip, results of their matches and the composition of the official delegation are being tagged as a “sports fiasco.”

Board Member Carmen Rita Monfort-Bautista, the committee chair, has requested the committee on education to join the investigation.

We don’t know what is there to be investigated for, in the first place, since there was no taxpayers money involved in the girls’ trip, according to Dr. Castillo, who spearheaded the last-ditch efforts to solicit from private sources to raise funds.

DepEd officials and other non-playing team members spent their own money, added Dr. Castillo, saying they could not afford to skip the tournament or face suspension from the organizers next year.

Instead of passing a resolution to congratulate the girls and their coaches in order to lift their spirits, this is what Monfort-Bautista and her peers will give to our tired and weary World Series heroes.

Adding insult to the girls’ and the coaching staff’s injury.

PUSH

If the committee investigation will push through, it will send a wrong signal to our young baseball girls and other athletes.

They will think that their local officials have no love lost for them; they will feel abandoned and betrayed.

“Is this the price that we have to pay only because we failed to win the championship?” they might ask themselves.

Still basking in the glory and prestige of having played in a major international sports arena, the girls will end up demoralized if not emotionally and mentally terrorized.

Is this how we reward our returning athletes? Only in Iloilo. Only in the Philippines.

Iloilo World Series coaches don’t deserve crucifixion

“There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” Indira Gandhi

By Alex P. Vidal

INSTEAD of crucifying the coaches and officials of the girls from Zarraga, Iloilo who competed in the recent 2014 Little League Softball World Series in the United States, let’s congratulate them all for giving their best against the world’s strongest softbelles.

We don’t agree that just because the two teams we sent to Portland, Oregon last August 7-13 and Kirkland, Washington last August 10-16 wound up 10^th place or dead last after losing all their games, the players and their coaches must face the firing squad back home.

There could be some factors why the high school and elementary girls yielded all their matches in the twin events.

Poor training and lack of preparations for the bigger competitions in the United States must be among these reasons.

Coming from a Third World country, the same handicap had saddled other poorly-trained and ill-equipped RP teams competing in international games in the past.

FINANCIAL

Not to mention the lack of financial support from sports institutions in the country like the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) or even the Department of Education (DepEd).

The argument that Little League World Series is not sanctioned by the DepEd because it is a private undertaking and not related to DepEd sports programs, thus the government can’t provide enough financial support, is hogwash.

Softball is a team event in the Palarong Pambansa. 

It is a medal event in both the SEA Games and the Asian Games.

World Olympic Games organizers award medals in softball.

In other words, it is not a demonstration event like bowling, billiards and chess.

Both the PSC and DepEd—and even Malacanang (with all its vast social funds) are morally obliged to provide financial support to the Little League World Series teams as well as other Filipino athletes here and abroad. No ifs. No buts.

The players that competed in the Little League World Series were all girls or below 21. They are all potential medalists in the SEAG and the ASIAD.

It is the duty and obligation of government to support their training and exposure in competitions abroad.

DOCTRINE

It is the doctrine of former President FVR’s “Sports For All” slogan. It should be sustained until today.

The issue isn’t new. It isn’t even earth-shaking, to say the least.

We’ve seen our other teams not only in softball but also in other major sports events falter in international competitions since time immemorial.

For sure our girls did their best, but their best clearly was not enough.

It’s their participation that matters most.

Their presence enabled them and their mentors to share and extend goodwill and camaraderie with other nationalities.

In competitions, there are winners and losers.

We can’t win them all. They lost fair and square.  

Not because some members of the delegation “were not actually coaches” but junketers.

In the first place, members of the delegation led by DepEd division superintendent, Dr. Myrna Castillo, could not have obtained travel visas and left the country if they were spurious or hangers-on.

Even if all the non-coaching staff in the delegation were toadies and sycophants, we can still win the world crown if our girls were well-equipped, well-trained and not malnourished.

EXPOSURE

Diet and exposure to big tournaments prior to the Little League World Series are also some of the main factors to consider.

Not because the son and daughter or office mates of a DepEd bigwig went with the two teams. The issue is water under the bridge.

Before a team can leave for an international event in the United States or any destination outside the Philippines, there are screening processes and accreditation.

If members of the RP Teams were not qualified or had no accreditation, they would not have made it to the World Series, a prestigious event, to accompany the 40 players mostly from Zarraga, Iloilo.

We should stop the culture of blame each time our teams or entries in any competition abroad fail to bring home the bacon or medal.

Our athletes competing abroad are our ambassadors of goodwill and peace.

Win or lose, they deserve to be treated as heroes because they represented our culture, our race, our character, and our dignity as Filipinos.

Sports competitions are not necessarily about winning; it’s also about how we made an impact in terms of display of character, agility, sportsmanship and belongingness.

It’s how we made our presence felt before an international arena.

If we have issues against any member of the delegation, we must address it in the proper forum; let say the committee of the World Series before the tournament.

Not after our battle-scarred heroes and their mentors have returned.

Sec. Raul Gonzalez Sr. and Iloilo media

“Don't be dismayed by good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.” Richard Bach

By Alex P. Vidal

When the late former Iloilo City lone district congressman and justice secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. was in power, he had a stormy relationship with the mainstream press in Iloilo.

He filed cases against almost all bombastic radio commentators, editors and newspaper columnists who called him “Sir Raul.”

Gonzalez fired back by hauling them off to court and threatening that he would “make life difficult for you,” his trademark slogan.  

In 1997, I was the editor of Sun Star Iloilo, a daily newspaper in Western Visayas, when Gonzalez, then a congressman, stormed our office and demanded to see Lolo Beloy Jr., one of our hard-hitting columnists, who had earlier lambasted him for the “anomalous” asphalt overlay projects in the city.

Editors and reporters gathered news in the field in the morning and reported in the afternoon.

OFFICE

The solon and his bodyguards went to our office on Rizal St., City Proper in the morning, thus they only met Nelson Robles, columnist of Super Balita, Sun Star’s sister publication.

One thing led to another and the chance encounter with Robles, now 64, ended in a not-so-pleasant exchange of harsh words. Robles became a recipient of Gonzalez’s suit for “unjust vexation”.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)-Iloilo, headed then by Limuel Celebria, castigated Gonzalez for trespassing in the office of a media outlet and viewed the unannounced visit as an act of harassment.

Among his fiercest critics were Panay News publisher Daniel Fajardo, Daily Informer publisher Bernie Miaque, then Philippine Daily Inquirer correspondent Nereo Lujan, then Bombo Radyo anchormen Novie Guazo and Rhod Tecson (now with RMN-Iloilo), columnist/radio commentator and later Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel “Boy M” Mejorada.

Gonzalez’s feuds with Fajardo and Miaque lasted for decades.

They even had near-violent scuffles in the airplanes that started with dagger looks.

COLUMNIST

Ironically, Gonzalez, who had served as Tanodbayan justice during the term of the late President Cory Aquino, started to reintroduce himself to the memories of the Ilonggos in the early 90s as a columnist of Fajardo’s newspaper.

Mejorada nearly missed his plane to Germany when Gonzalez, then the justice secretary under the Arroyo administration, placed his name under the immigration hold departure order.

Radio blocktime commentators loyal to Gonzalez “ate alive” Guazo, Tecson, Lujan, and other critics.

It was chaos when Gonzalez’s loyal bodyguards, media sympathizers and village chiefs figured the media critics in ugly verbal skirmishes.

Others ended in brawl.

Most village chiefs and councilors, local leaders, lawyers and some personalities in the broadcast and print media regarded Gonzalez as a hero and savior.

ARRIVED

Whenever he arrived from Manila, they elbowed each other to get a front seat view in his district office in Muelly Loney near the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand.

Gonzalez would engage them in a protracted tete-a-tete, swapping of jokes and laughter; and they all ended up “satisfied” and smiling from ear-to-ear as they raced toward the exit door.

Gonzalez’s benevolence and generosity was an urban legend.

Gonzalez, a bigwig in the Lakas-Kampi-CMD, was instrumental in making his son, Raul Jr. as congressman when he vacated the post in congress in 2004.

He dreamt of becoming a city mayor when he left the Department of Justice in 2009 but was upset by Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog in the 2010 mayoral contest.

May he rest in peace.

Boys sent to do a man’s job in Seville

“You don't play against opponents, you play against the game of basketball.” Bobby Knight

By Alex P. Vidal

TEAM Gilas Pilipinas has nothing to be ashamed of.

In the first place, nobody expected them to literally grab the Spanish bulls by the horns, slay them, and bring home the bacon.

We love basketball, but basketball can’t reciprocate that emotional attachment.

Our heights are not meant for the sport. 

We can win a world crown in boxing where height is not really a major factor, but never in the sport of Michael Jordan.

To be qualified in the 2014 FIBA World Cup was already a victory for the team that wrapped up the bronze medal in the recent 2014 Asia FIBA Cup in China.

Our basketball players were like a group of boys sent to do a man’s job in Seville, Spain but made their highly-rated counterparts look like fools, as admitted by Argentina coach Julio Lamas, whose team was nearly steamrolled by the determined Filipinos before escaping with a gut-wrenching, 85-81 win.

Despite losing exciting matches against highly-touted teams, our boys didn’t lose the battle. They were ousted in the medal column but weren’t defeated.

They can go home with heads unbowed and deserve a red carpet welcome.

AGAIN

But when can we ever see again a Philippine basketball team competing in the World Cup where all its cagers are pure Filipinos?

While we are happy for team Gilas Pilipinas, we really didn’t expect the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup third placer to score major upsets against the superpowers of world basketball in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Seville, Spain.

Thus the hair-line defeats to Argentina, Croatia and Puerto Rico were not really bad. At least we beat Senegal.

The stage was different, of course, when the all-Filipino RP basketball team competed in the 1954 FIBA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and won the bronze medal.

In the 1954 FIBA World Cup (known at that time as the 2^nd World Basketball Championship), the RP team did not have an Andray Blatche, center-forward of the Brooklyn Nets, recruited abroad to reinforce the Gilas Pilipinas.

We sent to Rio our best home-grown basketball players and we did not have to scout for naturalized reinforcements from the United States and Europe.

PROUD

And we were so proud to see the brown cagers demolish Formosa (48-38), Israel (90-56), Canada (83-76), and Uruguay (67-63) through the heroics of Carlos “The Big Difference” M. Loyzaga.

We lost only to the eventual champion United States (43-56) and second placer Brazil (41-57) but it was our greatest moment in world basketball championship.

Loyzaga, who turned 84 last August 29, is widely regarded as the greatest Pinoy cager of his era, being the most dominant basketball star from the 1950s to the early 1960s.

A two-time Olympian (1952, 1956), Loyzaga helped the country become one of the best in the world at the time, winning four consecutive Asian Games gold medals (1951, 1954, 1958, 1962) and two consecutive FIBA Asia Championships (1960, 1963).

The country’s third place was the best finish by an Asian country and the Philippines have remained the only Asian medalist in the tournament until today.

PRESTIGE

To add prestige to our 1954 FIBA World Cup campaign, Loyzaga wound up as one of the tournament’s leading scorers with average of 16.4 points-per-game.

The Filipino player was named in the tournament's All-Star selection.

Nowadays it’s hard to duplicate Loyzaga’s achievements. We can produce a lot of promising cage stars from colleges and universities all over the country inspired by the performance of Gilas Pilipinas. But we can’t probably produce another Loyzaga in the next 50 years.

Truly, what happened in Rio did not happen in Seville. With basketball in other European, North and Central America improving by leaps and bounds, it will probably never happen again.

Did Pericles, Julius Caesar also maintain ‘ghost employees’?

“When I saw corruption, I was forced to find truth on my own. I couldn't swallow the hypocrisy.” Barry White

By Alex P. Vidal

IF prostitution is the oldest profession, the issue of “ghost employees” could be the oldest form of graft and corruption among government officials.

Before Jesus Christ was born, history tells us there were already prostituted women and men. 

There were whores of antiquity providing sexual favors in exchange of money, goods and even food.

Before Christianity flourished, corruption was already prevalent in the Roman Empire.

Predecessors of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) already rolled down their curtains on the Romans. 

"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" Matthew (22:21).

Imperial taxes were probably stolen by a one-man dictator in a regime that did not have the media to conduct the check and balance.

The hiring of “ghost employees” probably began even before civil service became an official edict in government.

Was the practice of hiring “ghost employees” by corrupt government officials already rampant during the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome?

Did Athene's Pericles and the emperors of Rome hire "ghost employees" like their modern counterparts?

TURMOIL

In every graft and corruption turmoil or swapping of graft and corruption charges, the hiring of “ghost employees” would almost always surface.

Rhoderick Paulete, among other comedians and showbiz characters who joined the government, was indicted for allegedly pocketing at least P100,000 a month representing the salaries of his “ghost employees” during his term as councilor of Quezon City.

City hall and capitol are the favorite employment centers of “ghosts” or non-existing workers.

Corrupt mayors, vice mayors, governors, vice governors and members of the city and provincial legislatures make a pile from this nefarious scheme, aside from their kickbacks in various projects.

There is a saying that if you want to make a quick money in government hire “ghost employees.”

In this method, everybody is reportedly happy. As long as nobody will rat against the group, and as long as everyone’s lips are sealed.    

When government officials wash their dirty linens in public, they swap charges ranging from receiving regular payola from illegal activities, anomalies in overtime and cash advances, and hiring “ghost employees.”

 -o0o-

POLITICS has destroyed relationships.

Your friends today are your enemies tomorrow and vice versa.

Board Member Manny Gallar and Maasin Mayor Mariano Malones used to be political allies.

Both were loyal supporters of Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. except in the 2013 elections when Malones turned his back from Defensor to support former Iloilo fourth district Rep. Ferjenel Biron who lost to Defensor.

Like a father to a prodigal son, Defensor “reunited” with Malones after the elections.

Gallar, who was vanquished by Malones in the previous elections for board member in the third district of Iloilo, avenged the setback last year by edging Malones’ son.

Since then, their relationship has developed from bad to worse.

Malones rapped Gallar for allegedly maintaining “ghost employees” and questioned his other sources of income.

SALARY

Malones, a prominent figure in the local printing industry, believed that Gallar could not have bought a house and lot, a car and sent his children to private schools on a salary of P40,000 a month.

Their word war was actually the offshoot of the administrative complaints for oppression, misconduct in office, dishonesty and abuse of authority, among others, that Malones faces in the Provincial Board for dismissing Elsa Maternal as the town’s assistant human resource management officer in 2002.

Malones suspected that Gallar was trying to influence his peers to decide against the mayor’s favor.

The board member from Cabatuan, Iloilo denied Malones’ charges and did not wish to further engage the mayor in a verbal shootout related to the issue of “ghost employees.”

On September 9, the Iloilo Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) will render a verdict whether to suspend Malones.

Rosalie’s hell begins

"All men are rapists and that's all they are. They rape us with their eyes, their laws, and their codes." Marilyn French

By Alex P. Vidal

Now that 66-year-old Himamaylan City Councilor Harry C. Sian has been formally charged in the city prosecutor’s office for violation of Republic Act 7610 or Anti Child Abuse Act, life will never be the same again for Rosalie (not her real name) and her family.

Rosalie, 16, a housemaid, accused Sian, a rich and prominent haciendero in Negros Occidental, of raping her on several occasions for two years.

The alleged rapes happened sometimes inside the car, in the suspect’s house, and in motels. A sex slave?

Rosalie and her mother did not immediately report the matter to the police for fear of reprisal and eviction because they used to stay in the suspect’s hacienda, it was learned.

Even before Sian was charged, there were fears that Rosalie’s decision to come out in the open and pinpoint Sian as her alleged rapist would be an exercise in futility because she is fighting a Goliath.

Rosalie and her family must have evaluated and anticipated the possible consequences they would face once Sian’s name has been mentioned in the media.

CAST

Now that the die is cast, there should be no retreat and no surrender.

As expected, Sian would deny Rosalie’s allegations. As expected, Sian’s camp would mount a counter accusation to impeach the girl’s credibility.

The first volley came from Sian’s lawyer, Pietro Villarin, who claimed that the girl “only wanted money.”

Sian, the lawyer said, was the girl’s “third victim” whatever that means. Villarin did not elaborate.

We have heard this line before in other rape cases involving children who come from poor families.

The message is loud and clear. 

Sian’s camp is crying extortion.

The best defense is offense, as the saying goes.

Sensational cases involving poor victims against rich and powerful personalities usually prosper when there are no settlements; when witnesses cooperate from start to finish and refuse to be intimidated and bribed; and when the cases are closely monitored by the media.

If the case goes into trial, Sian’s goose is cooked politically speaking.

Guilty or not, public opinion would be cruel against his favor.

CULTURE

In our culture, we sympathize with the poor, the powerless and defenseless children like Rosalie.

Each time cases like Rosalie’s surface in mass media, we remember the Tagalog telenovela Flordeluna; we remember the abused and exploited women and children working in the haciendas of tart-tongued mestiza and mestizo colonial landlords and landladies.

We remember inhuman treatment by the mighty and privileged against the destitute and downtrodden.

If she is telling the truth, Rosalie deserves all the support from all sectors of society, especially the women and human rights associations in Himamaylan City.

In numerous cases involving rapes, physical and mental abuse, and all forms of violence against women and children committed by moneyed and powerful characters, we seldom see a Rosalie coming out bravely to seek for justice.

In most cases, the victims would opt to keep quite and forget their nightmares rather than risk being pilloried and made to endure a long litigation they can't afford to sustain financially.

JUSTICE

In our society where justice can be bought and truth can be twisted by the glitters of money and gold, the sight of a poor Rosalie fighting against odds is already a whiff of fresh air for those who pursue justice against conventional wisdom that you can’t topple the powerful, well-connected and well-oiled litigant in a protracted legal battle.

Sian deserves to be given his day in court. He will always be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. 

With his power and wealth, he is still considered to be in the advantage position.

The Bible tells us not to judge our fellowmen. He who has not sinned should cast the first stone.

When we judge others, we will be judged according to the barometer we used in judging others.  

For Rosalie, win or lose, hell has just begun.