Betcha by golly wow, present!

“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”

— Edmund Burke

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

LOCAL officials who did not campaign for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and continue to doubt the legitimacy of his victory in the May 2022 election must be physically present when the President delivers his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24 in the joint Congress, especially if they were “cordially” invited.

Their presence is part of protocol and their political affiliations and loyalty to any national leader or opposition doyen have nothing to do with it.

Iloilo Governor Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr., one of the closest political allies of former Vice President Leni Robredo, reportedly finally agreed to attend the SONA on July 24.

The Iloilo governor’s presence in the second SONA at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City won’t mean he will now sing hallelujah to the administration of the son of the former dictator Marcos Sr. who was loathed by the governor’s father, former Iloilo assemblyman and governor Arthur Sr.  

Defensor Jr. remains to be one of the only few local chief executives in the country allied with Robredo who never pledged support for the new administration after the election. 

He never invited President Marcos Jr or any member of the President’s family and cabinet to grace important events in Iloilo Province, so far. For his part, President Marcos Jr. and members of his family “reciprocated” the cold treatment and did not “invite” themselves to Iloilo Capitol affairs, so far.

Their feelings were mutual. 

Some of the mayors and governors identified with Robredo immediately “pledged to support the Marcos Jr. administration now that elections is over” after President Marcos Jr. occupied Malacanang in July 2022.

Not Governor Toto Defensor Jr. who still regards highly Robredo, the governor’s former colleague in the House of Representatives, as a leader and personal friend.

 

-o0o-

 

Ambassador Leo Tito Ausan Jr. is my former colleague in the defunct Daily Informerin 1994-95. Before he joined the foreign service, he was a practicing lawyer, chess player, instructor, columnist rolled into one.

(Ginsulat kag ginbalhag ni Ambassador Leo Tito Ausan, Jr., sang mga 2:30 sang hapon, sadtong ika-18 sang Hulyo sa Dhaka, Bangladesh…)

ANG PAGPANAMKON NI LUZ 

ANG PAGPANAMKON SI LUZ

Ang kadam-an matingil nga nag-ingus!

Sila namalabag sa kabangdanan nga ang pagdayunay sang duha,

Indi gid angay kag takus,

Kuno ang naga nitu-nito sa kaitum, kag mango nga Kanto Boy nga si Narding alyas Kutos,

Indî gid angayan sa, maalam kag maanyag kag nagapugatî sa kaputî nga si Luz.

II

Apang napaslawan ang ila pagpamalabag, pagpamatok, kag wala pahuway  nga pagpuros-puros nga naga-ingus,

Sa kurbada, ang nangin madinalag-on kag nangibabaw, amo gihapon ang abilidad ni Narding Kutos nga pagka huros-huros !

Nadayon gid, ang gintalanâ nga pag tambi palad sang duha,

Sa pagpatigayon kag pasugot sang mga ginikanan lang nila,

Labi pa, nga si Luz galî, ang isa ka bulan nga nagamagdos na,

Namutikan sang ginikanan ni Luz nga sanday Florante kag Laura,

nga siya daw nagapanamkon na, kay siya kon kaagahon naga duludigwa, kag naga suka suka,

Gani ila na  lamang ginpahanugotan kag ginpatigayon nga madayon ang kasal sang duha.

III

Nag- umpisa ang pagpangabuhi kag pag-upod ni Luz, kag Narding Kutos,

Nga tuman kabudlay, kay nagapanamkon na si Luz, kag nagamagdos,

Labi na gid, kay pinasahi katamâ, ANG PAGPANAMKON NI LUZ,

Sa iya pagpanamkon, Ang uyon lang nga kaunon ni Luz

Prutas nga Lumboy, kag sinabawan nga tiyan sang bangrus,

Kay ginahigugma gid katamâ, ni Narding si Luz,

Ang iya bisan ano pa nga iya ginapanamkunan, ginapangitaan niya gid sang medyos,

Kag siya gid ang nagapagpangita kag nagahangos nga nagapuros-puros,

Agud lamang mapahalipay niya sang tuman ang Nenê nga si Luz!,

IV

Sa una nga bulan, sang ila pagpuyo kag pag-upod,

Nangin, sampaton si Narding, sa pagpangita sang sinako nga lumboy, kag magpangompra sang kinilo nga tiyan sang bangrus, Gani daw kanami lang kag hilway sa libog ang kay Luz nga pagmagdos;

Daw kanami man lang sang ila pagpangabuhi nga duha,sa kaluoy sang Mahal nga Diyos,

Wala sila nagabais, bisan pa nga mabudlay ang pagpanamkon ni Luz,

Daw kasadya man lang sa ila, kay sa masami gina hawid-hawidan man ni Narding kag gina-ugtom ang iya nga pagkakutos,

Kon daw nagainit ang iya ulo sa pag pa suber kag pagpasingit ni Luz,

"Tutal", hutik ni Narding, nga nagabarangisi sa iya kaugalingon., "Tubtob kon san-o akon naman ining nagapugatî sa kaputî nga si Luz, "

" Daw pulahan nga damang bala haw, paagi sa amon kasal,indî na siya sa akon maka panginpadlos". Kay akon na siya nakibon  kag likop,  nga naputos"....

V

Sa pagpalangga ni Narding Kutos,

Madasig nga naglipas ang siyam ka bulan, humalin sang SANG MAGPANAMKON SI NENE LUZ,

daw halos lang bala isa lang ka layon sang tubo, nga sang lais nga  baboy talunon, gingus-ab kag ginpang-os;

VI

Kag nag-abot sang madasig ang adlaw sang pagbun-ag ni Luz,

Sang ila subang ni Narding  Kutos!!,

Pagkatapos sadto sang panyapon, mga alas nueve sang gab-i,

Padulong sa ospital nagdapitay sila nagpara kag nag highbol sa tricycle, ni Cyrus!....

Sa maayo nga palad, kag Kaluoy sang Makaako, ang pag-sulod nila sa ospital nagin mahapos,

Kag ang unang pagbun-ag ni Luz, nangin mahapos lang kag daw sa nagday-os,

Sang mga ala una sang kaagahon, nabatian nagikan sa delivery room, ang isa ka lapsag nga naghibi kag nag-ingos!!!...

VII

Kag ang tanan nga yara naga lingkod sa  guwa sang delivery room, ang nakibot sang si Narding Kutos, ang hinali nga nagguwa nga naga- hangos!!!....Ang kadulom kag kalinong sang palibot ang natublag sang siya ang nagsinggit, “ TATAY NA AKO!, NAG-BUN-AG NA SI LUZ!’, Ginkuhit si Narding sang isa ka nars, agud pabalikon sa sulod sang  delivery room, kay kuno ginapangita siya ni NeNe niya Luz. Gani nagdalangan siya pasulod balik sa delivery room, nga nabatian nga “Nagsambit,

“ Ano tani ato Nene ko Luz?”,..Kag nag ligad ang halos kinse minutos.

Gani Kami nga yara sadto sa guwa sang delivery room, daw indi man mahim-os,

Kay amon mabatian sa sulod si Narding, nga sa pagwawaw daw sa malumos.

VIII

Sang makaligad na ang trenta minutos

Nagikan sa delivery room nagguwa si Narding Kutos,

Nga may ginaputos sa lampin nga ginakugos,

Daw lapsag ini nga naga-ingos!!!,

Ginpalibutan namon siya agud makita ang subang nila ni Luz,

Kadungan ang pagpamangkot, “Narding, amo na bala ina ang subang Ninyo ni Luz?” Apang daku ang amon kakibot, sang pasinggit, nga mag sabat si Narding Kutos, “ Indi namon ini anak ni Luz!”,

Samtang ginatuki ang lampin, agud amon makita ang sa sulod naputos, sugpon pa niya, ”Lantawa niyo bala, ang iya supat kag pamanit DAW TUNGANG GAB- I KAITUM,  DAW TIYAN SANG BANGRUS KAG ATA SANG LUKOS!!”,

Wala kami tanan sang nahimo, kag nasambit kundi nagalibog ang ulo nga nagtinulukay, nga daw ginapamangkot ang tagsa- tagsa, NAG SALER AYHAN ANG PAGPANAMKON NI LUZ? SA LUMBOY KAG TIYAN SANG BANGRUS? NAGSALER GID MAN AYHAN ANG PAGPANAMKON NI LUZ???... SA LUMBOY KAG TIYAN SANG BANGRUS?....

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

How I learned early about Djokovic’s Wimbledon loss

“New Yorkers love it when you spill your guts out there. Spill your guts at Wimbledon and they make you stop and clean it up.”

— Jimmy Connors

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

MY sports mole in London, Jerprey Ian Guion, alerted me July 16 that Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was the crowd favorite even before he basked in the glow of thrilling victory by blasting many-time champion Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final.

Guion, who watched the Alcaraz-Novak championship setto at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London together with his fellow nurse Sharmane, reported that the match was very close even in the first set.

Alcaraz, 20, who topped Djokovic in five sets to win the world's most famous tennis tournament, conceded that he could have easily lost the title match in straight sets.

“He (Alcaraz) just scored a big upset,” I replied to Guion after immediately informed me of Alcaraz’s scintillating win.

Djokovic has been in 35 Grand Slam finals and won 23 of them. He played Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer a total of 109 times, with head-to-head edges against both. He went 9-5 against them in title matches at majors.

So it seemed only natural to ask Djokovic to whom he would compare the Alcaraz, the new star of men’s tennis after losing to him across five sets and more than 4 1/2 hours brimming with brilliant play and dramatic moments in the Wimbledon final.

 

-o0o-

 

Djokovic dominated the first set before Alcaraz won a thrilling tiebreaker to win the second and set the stage for an epic five-set showdown that lasted almost five hours.

Even as Djokovic dominated the early play, Alcaraz said he talked himself into remaining upbeat, knowing his chances to win games and get back into the match would come.

Alcaraz couldn’t be blamed for a momentary case of stage fright, playing on the sport’s most sacred ground, Centre Court of The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.

"It was a dream come true for me" just to play for the championship, Alcaraz said. "It was tough to deal with the nerves facing Novak on that stage."  

The audience Sunday included Kate, Princess of Wales,  Prince William, their two oldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and King Felipe VI of Spain.

Alcaraz said he caught a glimpse of Felipe shouting an encouraging "vamos" after winning points.

"I was not thinking about it. I tried not to think about it," he said. "But sometimes it's difficult to stay away from that. It's your own Spanish king watching you, supporting you.”

Alcaraz became the youngest men's champ since 17-year-old Boris Becker won it in 1985.

The 36-year-old Djokovic has won seven men's singles titles and is still one short of the record eight championships of the recently retired Roger Federer.

When the US Open blasts off in New York City next month, it will be my turn to give Guion the blow by blow account.

 

-o0o-

 

(Ginsulat kag ginbalhag ni Ambassador Leo Tito Ausan, Jr., sining ika 17 sang Hulyo, 2023, sang ika -4:30 sang hapon, Sa Dhaka, Bangladesh....)

ANG BARANGAY AMBOT

Nagsaulog sang iya tuigan nga pandot,

Ang mga tumandok nga pumuluyo nagsilinadya nagsilinaot, sang malapuyot!

Apang sang ang kaagahon sang sunod nga adlaw magsampot,

May nasapwan nga isa ka tinuga,

Nga nagatiskog, kag nagabarikutot,

Sa maligwin kag masiok nga pusod, 

Sang pader sa isa ka bakante nga lote nga tuman ka pangsot,

Ang Kapitan nagtawag sa pulis, nga sa kaluoy sang Mahal nga Diyos,  gilayon man nga nag-abot,

Wala madugayi, madasig , gaburhot!!

Ang kapulisan nag burublag sang mag-alabot,

Nagsugod sila sang  libot-libot, kag nag pulupamangkot, 

Sa barangay kag mga pumuluyo sa palibot?

Kon may nasaksihan, ukon nabatian bala sila?

Apang ang mga pumuluyo nga ila napamangkot,

Ang lunsay nga sabat, isa ka tinaga, matigda- gid lamang 

nga AMBOT!!.

Sang mga taga-ambulansya nga nag-abot,

Kag sang mga taga SOCO, Ang bangkay nga nagabarikutot, gin eksamen kag ginbalutbot, pagkatapos, padulong sa ospital ila gindala sang paburhot. 

Nabilin ang kapulisan nga naga lungo-lungo, kay wala gid masabat sang tul-id ang ila pulopamangkot,

Kay bisan ang tampuhaw nga Kapitan ang sabat matigda man nga Ambot...

Masubo nga naglakat na lamang ang nalugaw-an nga mga pulis, nga ang ulo ginakalot,  

Kag sa dalan ila nasugata si Bentot, Ang sang Barangay Ambot, suki gid nga manugbalot  

Kag siya ila man gin haboy, 

Sang subong nga mga pamangkot, Apang ang sabat ni Bentot, matigda man nga Ambot, kag kuno ang iya nabatian sang tungang gab-i na, 

Isa lamang ka Mabaskog lamang nga UTOT!!...Sa kainit sang ulo sang Kapulisan, ginpululihan nila ang labutaw nga si Bentot,  sang dukol kag hanot!

Maayo lang gani kay. nakapanginpadlos si Bentot kag naka lumpat sa suba kon sa diin madalum kag nagasagana ang tubig kag nagsarurot, Ahay makaluluoy nga Bentot, 

Humalin sadto wala na gid makit-an kag makabaligya sang balot sa Barangay Ambot. 

Ang nasapwan na gid lamang kay Bentot, humalin sadtong siya nadula kag sa suba magsarurot, amo ang alat nga ginasudlan niya magbaligya siya sang balut, Kon sa diin napagkit ang hayo niya nga Bentot!

Ang makatilingala, sang makit-an ang basket ni Bentot yadto ini sa maligwin kag masiok kag pangsot nga pusod sang pader sang bakante nga lote sa Barangay Ambot! Kon sa diin nasapwan ang bangkay pagkatapossang pandot,

Karon,  siguro sa akon kamo tanan dungan nga mamangkot, 

May kaangtanan ayhan sa pagkapatay sang nasapwan nga bangkay, ang manugbalot nga si Bentot??, 

ANG AKON, GID LAMANG SABAT, MAABTIK NGA AMBOT!!! 

KAY AKO TUNAY NGA TUMANDOK KAG PUMULUYO MAN SANG BARANGAY AMBOT??.... 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

The best in the Philippines

 

“Maybe some people think that it's all about the hype, about the fame, but it's not. It's all about being the best. It's all about challenging myself everyday.”

—Joanna Jedrzejczyk

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THERE is no doubt that Iloilo City’s Dinagyang Festival is the best festival in the Philippines. It’s also the most admired and most viewed Aliwan Fiesta performance in the social media.

It was not the first time for the Ilonggos to capture the Aliwan Fiesta 2023 championship in the Streetdance Competition held in Pasay City on July 15. 

In the previous years before the fiesta was canceled during the pandemic, Dinagyang Festival was already the winningest among more than a dozen festivals in the country.   

The choreography, passion, intensity, energy, and discipline in the Dinagyang Festival are unique and high level. 

Wherever our Dinagyang warriors perform—national and international—they always carry the spirit of a winner and heart of a champion.

Iloilo Dinagyang warriors always have something new and special to offer to the crowd, and it is not hard to earn the respect and admiration of the panel of judges, including independent observers.

Dinagyang Festival’s latest Aliwan Fiesta conquest will be a big boost to the efforts of Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas and other Iloilo City officials to include the local festival in the “Love the Philippines” official tourism slogan of the Department of Tourism.

There is no need anymore for DOT videographers or its contractors to use stock footage or borrow the videos of other cultural performances

as there are abundance of authentic videos of all the festivals in the recent Aliwan Fiesta.   

 

-o0o-

 

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) should be empowered to cancel or to declare as null and void the victory of any barangay official—chairman, councilman, SK chair-- found to be unfit mentally or with serious case of neurosis even after the barangay election. 

So many cases of insanity involving barangay officials have been recorded in the past. Prevention over cure.  

Instead of becoming an asset to the smallest political unit in the country, elected barangay officials with brain damage have become thorns and liabilities.

In one case in Iloilo City, a punong barangay or village chief missed a lot of opportunities to serve his constituents because he had to spend much of his time in the psychiatric ward of the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in the early 90s.

In one media gathering held at the RPTA Hall of the old Iloilo provincial capitol sometime in December 1992, a deranged village chief suddenly barged inside and threatened to throw a grenade to the crowd. 

The late broadcaster Sol Genson pacified the lunatic and convinced him to leave the premises. 

Luckily, he listened to Sol, who was his drinking buddy.

 

-o0o-

 

Earlier when the late Pres. Cory Aquino appointed Rosa "Tita" Caram as OIC city mayor in April 1986, another lunatic village chief asked the first lady mayor in Iloilo City to extend the route of Dinagyang tribes to Port San Pedro "so that people of Guimaras and Negros can watch the event." 

Tita Caram, wife of former Iloilo assemblyman Fermin “Nene” Caram, dismissed his "crazy" idea. 

A village chief in Jaro district used to being a monkey in the barangay hall insisting that "the monkey was my lucky charm and was responsible for my victory in a TV quiz show.” 

He accused a barangay councilman of “poisoning” the monkey that actually died under a mysterious circumstance. 

The lunatic village chief allegedly wanted to bury the animal at Christ The King Cemetery in Ungka, Jaro and allegedly wanted to use barangay funds, according to his critic barangay councilor (the councilor was probably joking when he said this).

"I opposed it and we had a shouting match," averred the barangay councilman, the suspect in the monkey's death, who came to our office at Sun Star Iloilo in the 90s to report the "abuse of authority."

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

Capitol reporters’ risky visit at Iloilo massacre site

“Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.”

— Henry Grunwald

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WHEN members of the media accompany the police and politicians in dangerous out-of-town trips, they are also like soldiers going to the battle: their other foot is in the grave.

But, of course, in any complicated mission and situation it always pays to be alert and maintain a calm mind amid difficulties.

This was proven 27 years ago when former Iloilo fifth district congressman Rolex Suplico and a team of Capitol reporters visited the site of a massacre in Brgy. Mandu-awak, San Dionisio, Iloilo morning on July 16, 1996.

Sensing “imminent” danger, they elected to detour from “hell” — and, thus, lived another day, so to speak.

Suplico, then a member of the Iloilo provincial board, invited us for an ocular inspection of the area where a carnage that killed six members of Ayusip and Arabe families happened several days earlier (weren't those 60 journalists also "invited" to cover an event when they were massacred in Ampatuan in Maguindanao in 2009?).

The visit came three days after Suplico filed a provincial board resolution condemning the massacre and seeking the appointment of a new police chief in this town in the fifth district of Iloilo located 106 kilometers north of Iloilo City.

Suplico said an ocular visit was necessary as he wanted to "look deeper" into the grisly crime.

After spending about an hour talking to some residents in the area and inspecting the houses where the crime was committed, we decided to call it a day. 

 

-o0o-

 

On our way going to neighboring Sara town for lunch, we met then San Dionisio mayor Peter Paul Lopez and his armed bodyguards.

Impassive Lopez had begrudged the Suplico’s board resolution and accused the board member of trying to implicate him in the massacre. 

He also believed the Capitol reporters were there to "add insult to his injury" as a suspected mastermind. 

Suplico had quipped earlier that "I have no concrete evidence to link Mayor Lopez" but that the whole Mandu-awak area "is being controlled by the Lopezes." 

In other words, a bad blood had been brewing between Suplico and Lopez even before the visit.

We were on board two vehicles when Lopez's team arrived also on two vehicles. 

Both Lopez and Suplico, who had not been talking to each other for a long time--and if they ever did the discussion was not cordial-- greeted each other and shook hands. They talked.

A few moments later, Lopez was heard admonishing Suplico like a master giving a mouthful to an erring servant about Suplico’s board resolution.

Suplico, a lawyer who spoke professionally, maintained his cool as he was aware who was king in the area. 

Lopez lashed at him some more blaming the board resolution to be the source of a "bombastic" article that appeared earlier in the Manila Standard which allegedly referred to Lopez as "murderer."

 

-o0o-

 

Unlike the bodyguards from both sides observing their respective bosses like daycare pupils from the start, some reporters, who were not paying attention either because they were hungry or they thought everything was very well, were now glancing at Suplico and Lopez while the two were swapping heavy words.

"Daw indi na ini maayo haw (It seems everything is not normal anymore)," the late senior photographer Cicero Omero whispered to me. 

"Pamati kamo daw ga binaisay na sila (Please try to listen, they seem to be having argument)," Sun Star Balita Iloilo reporter Nelson Robles interrupted us. 

"Relax lang ta. Alert lang" (Just relax and be alert)," contributed the late Panay News photographer Felix Agustin. 

If any untoward incident occurred and one of the bodyguards pulled the trigger of his firearm, there was no way for all of us to dodge the bullets as we were in open space and could hardly duck. 

After a tense moment, Suplico stopped talking, turned his back from Lopez, and boarded his vehicle. 

His decision proved to be the turning point of what would have been a terrible "after shock" of the massacre if both camps engaged in a gunfight. 

While Team Suplico was speeding away, Lopez's mouth continued to blabber with words inaudible to the “fleeing” entourage.

 

-o0o-

 

Over DYFM Bombo Radyo that night, Suplico said he did not have any intention to meet Lopez that day. 

Suplico decided to leave to avoid trouble, he said, because "I sensed that he (Lopez) was not normal and his eyes were red." 

Lopez, a political ally of then Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor, Sr., father of the incumbent Gov. Arthur Jr., denied Suplico's statement. 

They have not crossed paths again until Suplico became a colleague and eventually ally of the father Defensor in the House of Representatives.

Then Iloilo provincial police commander, Supt. Wilfredo Dulay, was furious when he heard about the incident. 

"Mabuti nalang walang nangyari. Naku, dagdag nanaman sana sa sakit ng ulo ko" (Good that no untoward incident happened. It would have added to my headache)," Dulay said.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

‘Salome’s dance’ in the Iloilo mayors league

“Salomé, Salomé, dance for me. I pray thee dance for me. I am sad to-night. Yes, I am passing sad to-night. When I came hither I slipped in blood, which is an evil omen; and I heard, I am sure I heard in the air a beating of wings, a beating of giant wings. I cannot tell what they mean .... I am sad to-night. Therefore dance for me. Dance for me, Salomé, I beseech you. If you dance for me you may ask of me what you will, and I will give it you, even unto the half of my kingdom.”  ― Oscar Wilde 

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

UNLIKE the outrage whipped up by the performance of sexy dancers in a recent National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) social gathering in Manila, there was no media uproar when the Iloilo Mayors League (now League of Municipalities) headed then by Ramon “Moning” Antiojo Jr. of Anilao, Iloilo allowed “Salome’s dance” in a program held in the ballroom of a seafood restaurant near the Iloilo River in 1992.

Then Leganes Mayor Josil Jaen had opposed the move to include Salome in the program but was prevailed upon by then San Rafael Mayor Tomas Divinagracia and another mayor from the fifth district of Iloilo during their meeting days earlier at the old Capitol’s RPTA Hall.

In the Biblical myth, Salome danced before King Herod Antipas in exchange for John the Baptist’s head, which referred to Salome dancing before the king.

The mayors league Salome was the “girlfriend” of a popular broadcaster hired to “entertain” the Iloilo mayors in a dinner party who did not demand anything except her “talent fee.”

The dance of Iloilo’s Salome, who was clad in white t-shirt and flare jeans, wasn’t scandalous unlike in the NBI’s “sexy” dancers.

She performed three times—two solo and one together with her radioman “boyfriend”—and was paid P2,000 for her “talent.”

Just like in the NBI “sexy dance” scandal, the mayors league did not spend a single centavo for Salome. 

 

-o0o-

 

The Salome dance proponents in the crowd passed the hat and collected P800. 

A popular mayor in the fifth district chipped in P1,000. 

The P200 was handed by someone in the crowd who was not an elected official.

Although Salome’s dance was slightly criticized by a “blocktime” radio anchorman in his program days later, Mayor Antiojo did not apologize for Salome’s dance unlike NBI chief Medardo de Lemos who said sorry over the controversy saying it was not their intention to offend anyone.

“Kung naging offensive man ang pagsasayaw na ito noong June 30 after ng command conference sa sensibilities ng ating mga mamamayan, lalo na ating kababaihan, humihingi po kami ng paumanhin (If ever the dance performance last June 30 after our command conference offended our people’s sensibilities, especially women, we apologize),” De Lemos said during the briefing.

 

-o0o-

 

De Lemos said the performance took place after their command conference, adding that they had a fellowship for the NBI national and regional officers to bond. 

He refused to dignify criticism that the NBI considers women as a commodity.

The NBI chief claimed he was absent during the controversial performance, but was present during the early part of the fellowship at around 5:30 pm saying he was tired because of the two-day conference and left early.

He called added the celebrations inside the bureau as “wholesome.”

De Lemos said he already ordered a probe into the incident to determine who invited and brought the dancers, and who allowed them to perform for the NBI event. He added they will impose necessary sanctions against those proven to be at fault under civil service rules.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

Why coops ran by angels end up in hell

 

“Power attracts the corruptible. Suspect any who seek it.” 

― Frank Herbert

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE weren’t surprised by reports that the Iloilo City Government Employees Credit Cooperative (ICGECC) was rocked by allegations of irregularities.

Any cooperative movement, if mishandled or mismanaged, can be a source of unwarranted “wealth” for a corrupt few.

It’s too premature to conclude ICGECC is doomed pending the formal investigation reportedly to be conducted by the Iloilo City Council. 

In the Philippines, even if the cooperatives are managed by angels, the cooperatives sometimes may still end up in hell.

The system is good, it’s the angels, err, the officers of the cooperatives who (can) transform the cooperatives into veritable cookie jars, again for a corrupt few.    

The cooperative movements are deeply rooted in the Filipino culture. And corruption or wrongdoing committed by the same characters who are, in one way or the other, supposed to be helping organize and enhance the cooperatives, is also deep-seated.

 

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Because they are run much the same as commercial business corporations, it’s the members who elect a board of directors which employs a manager and makes other arrangements for providing service. 

The manager is responsible for running the business, subject to the direction and review of the board of directors, which, in turn, is accountable to the membership of the cooperatives.

In many cases in the Philippines, the manager and the board of directors are in cahoots to defraud the members.

Since they have the power and authority to arrogate to themselves the execution of policies and the financial management, chances are they can walk away with the largesse if they connive to commit a malfeasance.

 

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Cooperatives are sometimes small and sometimes big. They range from informal, unincorporated associations with few members to large corporations which count their members in the tens of thousands. Most of them nowadays are incorporated, according to the American Historical Association (AHA).

A cooperative can be incorporated with or without issuing stock to its members. If it does not issue stock, it is called a membership corporation. 

Any eligible person can become a member, with voting rights, simply by haying a membership fee. 

Sometimes even that is not necessary. This type of organization, which is becoming increasingly popular in the cooperative movement, does not appear at all among commercial corporations.

When the cooperative issues stock, it is known as a capital-stock corporation, and the ownership of a share of voting stock is necessary to full membership. 

In this sense, capital-stock cooperatives are very much like ordinary commercial corporations.

Most cooperatives are still of the capital-stock variety, but the swing is toward membership co-ops. The laws of most states make it easy to organize these latter.

Cooperatives can also be broadly classified in another way: They are either direct membership or federated organizations. (Source: American Historical Association)

 

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Because those who are served by a cooperative are members and owners as well as customers, the cooperative must keep careful account of members’ transactions so that savings can be properly returned to them in proportion to their patronage, AHA suggested.

“In order that members may be able to meet their responsibilities intelligently, cooperatives find it necessary to provide them with lull information on current operations,” AHA explained.

“A cooperative business is the instrument of its members and its success depends largely upon how much and how steadily the members make intelligent use of its services. 

“A cooperative, in other words, must tie together management and patrons as essential parts of a mutual undertaking.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

Who is John Galt?

“Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.”

— John Kenneth Galbraith

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

In 1993, when the Panay Electric Company (PECO) applied for extension of its franchise, we covered the public hearings for several days at the old Sangguniang Panlungsod building in Iloilo City.

A barangay captain from Molo district asked the PECO representatives if they were willing to refund the “unauthorized” generation and distribution charges in the bills once they were given extension of their franchise for another 20 years, which was eventually approved in Congress.

Nobody from the PECO made a commitment for a refund even as they justified the controversial additional charges in the tense public hearings.

It seemed “refund” was a prohibited word for the PECO then.

That was 30 years ago.

Today, under the More Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) we are shocked to hear the reports that consumers who religiously paid their dues in the past 36 months would get a refund of their bill deposits.

At least 20 eligible consumers were reportedly identified for last month, but only 15 have submitted their refund applications.

On July 7, 12 Ilonggo consumers received their deposits, ranging from P2,500 to P8,000, during a simple ceremony at the MORE Power office in Iloilo City.

It seems the word “refund” is having a Renaissance under the MORE Power today.

To borrow the words of the Tagalogs, “sana all.”

 

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This is the astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world--and did. 

Atlas Shrugged is a massive paean to capitalism and depicts a world where corporate CEOs and one-percenters are the selfless heroes upon which our society depends, and basically everyone else -- journalists, legislators, government employees, the poor -- are the villains trying to drag the rich down out of spite, when we should be kissing their rings in gratitude that they allow us to exist.

Rand’s protagonists are Dagny Taggart, heir to a transcontinental railroad empire, and Hank Rearden, the head of a steel company who’s invented a revolutionary new alloy which he’s modestly named Rearden Metal. 

Together, they battle against evil government bureaucrats and parasitic socialists to hold civilization together, while all the while powerful industrialists are mysteriously disappearing, leaving behind only the cryptic phrase “Who is John Galt?”

 

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Atlas Shrugged is a work of fiction, but as far as many prominent conservatives are concerned, it’s sacred scripture. 

Alan Greenspan was a member of Rand’s inner circle, and opposed regulation of financial markets because he believed her dictum that the greed of businessmen was always the public’s best protection. 

Some politicians have required their staffers to read the book, while others have announced grandiose plans to build their own real-life “Galt’s Gulch,” the hidden refuge where the book’s capitalist heroes go to watch civilization collapse without them.

Reading Atlas Shrugged is like entering into a strange mirror universe where everything we thought we knew about economics and morality is turned upside down. 

We’ve already learned some valuable lessons from it. 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)