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MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

ISSN–1655-3853 • JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009 • VOL. 30, NO. 26 • 8 PAHINA • P10.00

Piyesta ng Krus sa Wawasiniguradong ligtas; sugatng trahedya naghilom na

PAGODA NG KRUS SA WAWA — Angprusisyon ng pagoda ng Krus sa Wawa(itaas) ay muling sinimulan sa pagdiriwangng pista ng Bocaue, Bulacan noong 2006— 13 taon matapos tumaob ang pagoda

Pagodang gagamitin matatagat limitado sa 50 ang sasakayBOCAUE, Bulacan — Tini-yak ng mga opisyal ng Par-ish Pastoral Council (PPC)ng bayang ito na hindi namauulit ang trahedyang na-ganap noong 1993 sa ka-nilang pagdiriwang ng pi-yesta ng Krus sa Wawa saLinggo, Hulyo 5 na kinata-tampukan ng fluvial paradeo prusisyon sa ilog ng Bo-caue, Bulacan.

Ang pahayag na ligtas

ang isasagawang pagdiri-wang ng ika-159 na taongdebosyon sa Krus sa Wawaay dahil na rin sa mulingnagbalik ang sigla ng pag-diriwang ng pista simulanoong 2006 kung kailan itoay tinampukan muli ngpagsasagawa ng prusisyonsa ilog, matapos ang 13 taonbuhat nang itigil ito sanhi

ng “pagoda tragedy” noong1993.

Kaugnay nito, sinabi ngmga residente ng Bocaue naang pagbabalik ng sigla sapagdiriwang ng piyesta ayisang palatandaan na hini-lom na ng panahon at pana-nampalataya ang malalimna sugat na iniwan ng tra-hedya na kumitil sa mahigit260 buhay.

sundan sa pahina 6

noong Hulyo 2, 1993. Mahigit 260 kataoang nasawi sa trahedya (Mabuhay FilePhoto). Nailathala naman ang malagim napangyayari (kaliwa) sa Mabuhay noongHulyo 2-8, 1993.

NI DINO BALABO

2 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009

EDITORIALAlfredo M. Roxas, Jose Romulo Q. Pavia, JoseGerardo Q. Pavia, Joey N. Pavia , Jose VisitacionQ. Pavia, Carminia L. Pavia, Perfecto RaymundoJr., Dino Balabo

ADVERTISINGJennifer T. Raymundo

PRODUCTIONJose Antonio Q. Pavia, Jose Ricardo Q. Pavia,Mark F. Mata, Maricel P. Dayag,

PHOTOGRAPHY / ARTEden Uy, Allan Peñaredondo,Joseph Ryan S. Pavia

BUSINESS / ADMINISTRATIONLoreto Q. Pavia, Marilyn L. Ramirez,Peñaflor Crystal, J. Victorina P. Vergara,Cecile S. Pavia, Luis Francisco, Domingo Ungria,Harold T. Raymundo,

CIRCULATIONRobert T. Raymundo, Armando M. Arellano,Rhoderick T. Raymundo

The Mabuhay is published weekly by theMABUHAY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES —DTI Permit No. 00075266, March 6, 2006 toMarch 6, 2011, Malolos, Bulacan.

The Mabuhay is entered as Second Class MailMatter at the San Fernando, Pampanga PostOffice on April 30, 1987 under Permit No. 490;and as Third Class Mail Matter at the ManilaCentral Post Office under permit No. 1281-99-NCR dated Nov. 15, 1999. ISSN 1655-3853

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MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

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ANO na ang nangyari sa pa-hayag ng mga opisyal ng Provin-cial Environment and NaturalResources (PENRO) sa Bulacanna kakasuhan nila si MonsignorAngel Santiago sa pagpapabunotat pagpapaputol ng mga punong-kahoy sa harap ng Simbahan ngBarasoain sa Malolos nang wa-lang kaukulang permiso sa ka-nilang tanggapan?

Natakot ba sa krus ang mgaopisyal ng PENRO na katulad ngmga aswang na napapanood na-tin sa pelikulang Pilipino noongdekada ’70?

* * *Isinangkot ng isang dating

driver ng PENRO na si Jose Muñoz sina CENRO William DelaCruz at Forester Rudy Abrazaldosa kanyang affidavit hinggil saanomalya sa PENRO, ngunitparang hindi na umusad angkaso.

Natakot ba ang mga taga-

Promdi DINO BALABO

Tagapangalaga ng kalikasan

Buntot Pagé PERFECTO V. RAYMUNDO

P123 B ang budget deficit sa 5 buwanNAKABABAHALA ang ginaga-wang paggastos ng pamahalaan.Batay sa nalathala sa mga pangu-nahing pahayagan umaabot saP123 bilyon ang sobrang nagas-tos ng Pamahalaang Nasyonalmula Enero hanggang Mayo ngkasalukuyang taon. Ito ay bataysa ulat ni Finance SecretaryMargarito Teves.

Ang budget deficit ay nangya-yari dahil sa may pagkukulang sakoleksyon ang Bureau of Inter-nal Revenue at Bureau of Cus-tom, samantalang palaki ngpalaki ang gastos ng pamahalaan.

Isama pa rito ang mga biya-yang natatanggap ng mga con-gressmen at ang madalas na pag-bisita ng pangulo at mga kasamasa ibang bansa. Talaga nganglalaki ang budget deficit.

Sana naman ay matutongmagtipid ang mga kinauukulan.

Bagong Bulacan PNP DirectorSI Sr./Supt. Diosdado Ramos angbagong Bulacan PNP Police Di-rector kapalit ni Sr./Supt. AllenBantolo, na nanungkulan saBulacan sa loob ng isang taon atpitong buwan.

Nagpapasalamat ang mgaBulakenyo sa mga nagawa ni Col.Bantolo para mapanatili ang

Kastigo BIENVENIDO A. RAMOS

Ang Cha-Cha at ang Influenza A H1N1AYOKONG isipin na ang pag-pasok ng influenza A H1N1 virussa ilang empleyado ng camara derepresentantes ay bad karma —sa maraming kalokohang gina-gawa ng nakararaming buwayasa Mababang Kapulungan, parti-kular ang pagbraso sa cha-cha sapamamagitan ng ConstituentAssembly.

Tingnan mo naman ang nang-yayari sa bansa: abut-abot angkalamidad — bagyo, baha, pag-guho ng lupa, dengue fever,A H1N1. May anim na milyonang nagkakagutom; may 14 namilyon ang walang trabaho.

Nawawalan ng trabaho angmga Overseas Filipino Workers(OFW); nahuhuli at nakukulongpati mga Pinay na ginagawangcourier ng shabu sa China atibang bansa.

Sa kabilang dako, narito siGng. Macapagal-Arroyo, ang mgahuling araw sa Malakanyang ayginugugol sa pamamasyal, uma-no’y nag-aahente sa mga dayu-hang mamumuhunan sa bansa.

Ang piyestaat pagkakaisa

ANG pagdiriwang ng piyesta ay isa sa mga pagkakataon sa buhayng isang pamayanan kung kailan nagkakaisa ang mga kasapi nito.

Hindi madali ang paghahanda sa pagdiriwang ng isang piyesta.Karaniwan ay inaabot ito ng isang taon o higit pa. Bawat isa aykumikilos, mula sa mga kabataan hanggang sa katandaan.

May mga naghahanda ng makukulay na banderitas nanagsisilbing palamuti sa mga kalye, masaganang pagkain at inumin,mga kasuotang gagamitin sa prusisyon, at mga premyo para saiba’t ibang timpalak, palaro at paligsahan.

Maging ang pagkumbida sa mga magsasagawa ng palabas,mga musikong tutugtog sa araw ng pagdiriwang, at mga paringmangunguna sa pagsasagawa ng misa ay kailangan din ng mahabaat maingat na pagpaplano.

Hindi man aktibo sa paghahanda ang buong pamayanan ayhindi maitatanggi ang kanilang paglahok. Ito ay sa pamamagitanng pagbibigay ng mga kontribusyong kakayahan at salapinggugugulin sa minsan sa isang taong pagdiriwang.

Ang totoo, isang palaisipan sa marami, dayuhan man o Pilipino,ang pagdiriwang ng piyesta.

Ito ay dahil na rin sa kakaibang pagkakaisa ng bawat kasaping isang pamayanan, at kahandaang gumugugol ng salaping kinitasa buong taon para sa isa o dalawang araw na pagdiriwang,samantalang ang pagkakaisa at kahandaang iyon ay hindi makitao maihandog sa ibang adbokasiya katulad ng pangangalaga sakalikasan, mabuting pamamahala, pagiging makabayan, at iba pa.

Hindi pa nga ba naghihilom ang sugat sa sikolohiyang Pilipino,na bunga ng mahabang panahong pagkaalipin sa mga kamay ngbanyaga? O tunay lamang na hindi pa tayo handang kumilos bilangisang lipi, bilang isang pamayanan, bilang isang bansa?

Ang mga katugunan sa mga katanungang iyan ay abot-kamaynatin, kung ating bibigyan ng panahon at malalim na pagsusuriang kalinangan ng ating lipi sa pagdiriwang ng mga piyesta.

Ang kalinangang ito na pinagyaman ng panahon at pinandayng mga pagsubok ay sariling atin, ngunit kailangan nating himayinang bawat hibla nito upang higit nating maunawaan ang iba’t ibangsangkap na bumabalot dito.

Sa ganitong paraan, ating malinaw na makikita ang sangkapng pananampalatayang Pilipino na masasalamin sa mga iba’t ibangpamamaraan ng pasasalamat, pagsamba’t panalangin saMaykapal.

Sa huli, makikita natin na ang liping Pilipino ay may takot saDiyos. Kailangan nating pagyamanin ito sapagkat sinasaad saBibliya na ang takot sa Diyos ay simula ng karunungan.

At ang karunungan ang susi sa maunlad na pamayanan.

katahimikan sa lalawigan sakanyang panunungkulan bilangBulacan PNP Police Director.

Kay Col. Ramos, sana po aymapantayan ninyo di man ma-higitan ang serbisyong ginawa niCol. Bantolo sa mga mamama-yang Bulakenyo.

Good luck, Sir!

Pulitika sa BulacanMAHIGIT na 10 buwan pa bagodumating ang halalan sa Mayo ng2010 ngunit nagsisimula nanggumala sa mga liblib na barangayang mga may hangaring tumakbosa darating na halalan.

Sa pagka-punong lalawigan aymatunog na muling palalaot sidating Gob. Josie M. Dela Cruz.Tiyak na makakasagupa niya sikasalukuyang Bise Gob. Willy Sy-Alvarado. Parehong may panaloang dalawa.

Si Gob. Josie ay unang nahalalna number one councilor sa kani-lang bayan sa Bocaue. Tumakbosiyang board member at pinaladdin siyang magwagi. Naging bisegobernador bago nahalal nagobernador.

Si Alvarado naman ay unangnaging alkalde sa kanilang bayansa Hagonoy. Pagkatapos ay naha-lal na Kinatawan ng Ika-1 Distri-

to ng tatlong beses. Sa kasaluku-yan ay siya ang bise gobernadorng lalawigan.

Pareho silang walang talo.Sino kaya sa kanilang dalawa angpapalaring magwagi?

Abangan!

Sulpicio Lines kinasuhan naPAGKARAAN ng mahigit naisang taon ay kinasuhan na ngDepartment of Justice ang may-ari ng Sulpicio Lines, Inc. kaug-nay ng paglubog ng M/V Princessof the Stars.

Ang kaso, reckless impru-dence laban sa Sulpicio Lines atapat pang tao dahil sa pagkakalu-bog ng M/V Princess of the Stars.

Ang nasabing barko ay lumu-bog sa may Sibuyan Island saRomblon noong Hunyo 21, 2008sa kasagsagan ng bagyong Frank.

May 800 pasahero at crew ngnasabing barko ang nangamataysa nasabing trahedya. Ang pag-kabalam sa pagsasampa ng kasoay dahil sa tagal ng pangangalapng ebidensiya.

Ayon kay DOJ Secretary Ag-nes Devanadera ang kakasuhanay sina Edward Go, first vicepresident ng Sulpicio Lines, atFlorencio Marimon, ang kapitanng barko.

Pero karay-karay ang sandamak-mak na mga tonggresista, mi-yembro ng gabinete, mga asawa,girlfriend, mga anak. Mula palanang pumalit si Aling Gloria kayErap, may 50 beses na siyangnaglilibot sa iba’t ibang bansa, atayon sa nakuhang ulat ni Sen.Francis Escudero may P3 bilyonna ang nagagasta ni GMA sapamamasyal sa iba’t ibang bansa!

May P3 bilyon na ba angkinita ng Pilipinas mula sa puhu-nang dayuhan na umano’y na-ganyak ni GMA na mamuhunandito? E paano ang kickback,tongpats sa mga naisarang kon-trata — tulad ng makukuha sanasa NBN-ZTE deal — kung na-tuloy?

Matatalino nga ba ang Pilipino?DUDA ako sa sinasabing mata-talino na ngayon ang mga Pi-lipino (mga pulitiko ang ma-tatalino).

Paano masasabing matatalinoang mga naghalal sa mga buwa-yang nakakaraming bumubuo ng

Kampi-Lakas-CMD sa House ofRepresentaTHIEVES?

Hindi ba nakakahiya na anginyong “kinatawan” sa Kongresoay madalas na absent, dumadalolang sa session kung tatalakayinupang ibasura ang mga impeach-ment complaint laban kay GMAat iba pang kakampi ni AlingGloria sa Comelec, sa Ombuds-man o sa Hukuman sa Pagha-habol. Na pagkaraang makuhaang kumisyon sa pork barrel obonus sa pagbabasura sa mga im-peachment complaint o pagsu-sulong ng cha-cha ay lilipad napatungong Hong Kong, USA atiba pang bansa na pagdedeposi-tohan ng salaping galing sa smug-gler, kidnapper, drug lord at ibapang sindikato ng krimen nanakatimbre sa Malakanyang o saKongreso?

Nakalulungkot na sabihingang nakararaming Pilipino aymangmang, wala ring delikadesa,madaling utuin at may pagkapa-natiko. Walang libangan kundi

sundan sa pahina 7

EDITORYAL

PENRO na magkabulgaran?* * *

Ipinasisibak ng mga katutu-bong Dumagat sa bayan ngNorzagaray ang mga opisyal ngPENRO sa Bulacan na diuma-no’y sangkot sa mga anomalyahinggil sa mga reforestationproject sa Ipo Dam Watershed.

Bakit tahimik ang mga taga-PENRO? Sa Ipo Dam na ba silanag-oopisina?

* * *Umabot na sa 20 porsiyento

ang nakalbo sa may 53,000 ek-taryang Angat Watershed, sa-mantalang halos 70 porsiyentong 6,600 ektaryang Ipo Water-shed ang kalbo na.

Nakakabahala ang mga bi-lang na ito, dahil ang 20 por-siyento ng 53,000 ektarya ay ha-los kasing laki o mas malaki pasa kabuoang sukat ng 6,600ektrayang Ipo Watershed.

* * *

Ang sitwasyon ay nanganga-ilangan ng higit na pagbabantayng mga kagawad ng PENRO atCENRO sa lalawigan.

Palusot ng PENRO, kulangkami sa tao.

* * *Batay sa pahayag ng PENRO

sa isang imbestigasyon ng Sang-guniang Panglalawigan, nahi-hirapan silang bantayan angkabundukan ng Bulacan parti-kular na ang mga reforestationproject nila dahil 12 lamang angkanilang forester sa Bulacankung saan ay dalawa ang babae,at 10 ang malapit nang mag-retiro.

Mukhang ang tanggapan ngPENRO sa Bulacan ang dapat “i-reforest.”

* * *Nais rendahan ng mga opisyal

sa lalawigan ang mga flyingschool sa bayan ng Plaridel dahil

sundan sa pahina 6

JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 3

Depthnews JUAN L. MERCADO

Playing our song?

Regarding Henry

HENRYLITO D. TACIO

Cebu Calling FR. ROY CIMAGALA

Recovering wisdom

Students of life“THEY just lie there / And theydie there.” Nat King Colecrooned that line, from the 1950song Mona Lisa, into Grammy’sHall of Fame. Here, that line de-scribes cases crammed in a semi-paralyzed Ombudsman.

“Deeper than politics, andlarger than individuals, are insti-tutions,” cautions Philippine Hu-man Development Report(PHDR) 2009. “( They ) structurehuman interactions, (speciallywhere) “fundamental change isneeded, but has not occurred.”

PHDR analyzes the Ombuds-man (OMB) and other institu-tions, politics and their impactof human development. This bi-ennial study has been publishedsince 1990. The United NationsDevelopment Programme andNew Zealand co-sponsor this lat-est edition.

“The constitution patternsour OMB on Sweden’s ombuds-man of 1809. Independent of theexecutive, this official defendedrights of citizens. Scandinavianand other countries adopted thisinnovation.

How do we compare? Over a

I’M afraid it’s increasingly look-ing and sounding like it’s just asa word. Wisdom is now confinedand restricted to the world of vo-cabulary, to be used—molestedand prostituted, would be thebetter terms—only when someformal occasion calls for it, whichis obviously few and far between.

This is the tragedy of ourtimes. Many of us don’t knowanymore what it’s all about,much less, what it involves andrequires. Worse, we don’t seem tomind. What’s supposed to be anobject of intense desire is nowpractically dead and extinct inour minds and hearts.

Firstly, because we already arefloating on a vast, almost shore-less ocean of data and informa-tion. We just take our pick, andwe can already sound sensibleenough to survive and make dowith whatever situation there is.

Besides, the others don’t knowany better. All play the samegame. The prevailing mindset isthat we just need to contend our-selves with opinions and views.

As much as possible, weshould refrain from making cat-

LAST June 19, on the occasionof the Solemnity of our Lord’s Sa-cred Heart and a day of prayerfor the sanctification of the clergy,Pope Benedict XVI inaugurateda Jubilee Year for Priests in cel-ebration of the 150th anniversaryof the "dies natalis" of John MaryVianney, the patron saint of par-ish priests worldwide.

This brings to mind some-thing that the Holy Cure of Arsonce said in his catechesis that‘the Christian’s treasure is notfound in this world but inHeaven. For this reason, one’sthoughts ought to be constantlyoriented towards this treasure.’This moves us and helps us toexamine ourselves.

Unfortunately, in our times itseems that Heaven is reduced tochildren’s storytelling anddaydreamings. The present-dayChristian seems to find himselfall too engaged in earthly affairs

Forward to Basics FR. FRANCIS B. ONGKINGCO

Treasures of God

JUNE 18 was a very importantday for my TV show. It was theday when I had the honor of hav-ing Ambassador Edsel T. Cus-todio as my guest. The goodAmbassador is now the Under-secretary of Foreign Affairs forInternational Economic Rela-tions (IER). He is also the SeniorOfficial Minister of the Philip-pines for the Asia Pacific Eco-nomic Cooperation (APEC) Fo-rum.

July 2 will also become a veryimportant day for my show. Itwill be the day when Deputy Di-rector General Rolando G. Tung-palan of the National EconomicDevelopment Authority (NEDA)will guest in my show. He is alsoconcurrently the Official Eco-nomic Spokesperson of the gov-ernment, in tandem with Prof.Gary B. Olivar who also holdsthe same title.

Already a regular guest in myshow, Prof. Olivar will now bejoined by Usec Custodio andUsec Tungpalan as regularguests, thus establishing myshow as a major source of offi-cial information about economicmatters, a very critical need formy audience that is generallycomposed of stock traders, ana-lysts, investors, businessmen

Fair & Square

IKE SEÑERES

egorical declarations of right andwrong, of good and evil. Our un-derstanding of freedom now ap-pears detached from its relationto truth. It has become purelysubjective. This is the ethos now,what is in, what is politically cor-rect.

What can still contribute andcomplicate the matter is thatwith all the problems and pres-sures we are facing these days, weseem to be forced to be simplypractical in our reactions and be-havior. We are always tempted toleave the high-sounding wisdombehind.

Wisdom is seen as somethingabstract not concrete, remote notimmediate, idealistic not realis-tic. At best, only a few gifted andprivileged individuals can worryabout it. It’s not meant for all.

There can be many other fac-tors. But what’s clear is that weshould realize we need to recoverthis gift and virtue if we are toremain first of all human andthen ultimately as children ofGod.

Our human condition needswisdom. It is what connects us to

the ultimate and complete truthsthat we can and ought to know.And not only to know, but also tolove, to delight, because thesetruths are supposed to make ushappy or to respond to the deep-est yearning of our heart andsoul.

For Christian believers, wis-dom is understood as a “giftwhich perfects the virtue of char-ity by enabling us to discern Godand divine things in their ulti-mate principles, and by giving usa relish for them.”

In the Book of Revelation, itis the light that abides in a per-son, such that “night shall be nomore, and they shall not need thelight of the lamp, nor the light ofthe sun, because the Lord Godshall enlighten them.” (22,5)

Wisdom can be had by anyone,anytime, anywhere. Everythingcan be made use of to find, de-velop and exercise wisdom. Thepoet and the farmer, with God’sgrace received with the properdispositon, can have it. They canarrive at the same truth even ifpursued through different ways.

continued on page 4

that he forgets to lift his eyes toHeaven and renew his desires ofpossessing it.

As a result, God wanted hispriests to be the very instrumentsto recall to men their destiny tothis eternal communion of lovewith God. Benedict XVI remindsthe priests of their divine mis-sion. He illustrates this using thewords of the Cure of Arts: “With-out the Sacrament of Holy Or-ders, we would not have the Lord.Who put Him there in that tab-ernacle? The priest. Who wel-comed your soul at the beginningof your life? The priest. Who feedsyour soul and gives it strength forits journey? The priest. Who willprepare it to appear before God,bathing it one last time in theblood of Jesus Christ? The priest,always the priest. And if this soulshould happen to die [as a resultof sin], who will raise it up, whowill restore its calm and peace?

Again, the priest. ... After God,the priest is everything!”

Moreover, the Cure adds: "(…)What use would be a house filledwith gold, were there no one toopen its door? The priest holdsthe key to the treasures ofheaven: it is he who opens thedoor: he is the steward of the goodLord; the administrator of Hisgoods. ... Leave a parish fortwenty years without a priest,and they will end by worshippingthe beasts there. ... The priest isnot a priest for himself, he is apriest for you".

* * *Now, if Heaven is man’s trea-

sure, –where our Supreme Good-ness God Himself dwells– thenwhat would God consider Histreasure on earth? The answer,rather bold, is the priest. Thiswas precisely what the holy Cureof Ars frequently said: "The

continued on page 7

and entrepreneurs.Economic information is one

thing, economic cooperation isanother. Knowing the nature oftheir work, I could already seethat these three professionalscould contribute greatly to theconsensus to work towards eco-nomic cooperation, a consensusthat has gradually emergedamong my regular guests.

I know Edsel from way back,when I was still a Press Attachéand he was still a Trade Attaché.The Department of Foreign Af-fairs (DFA) is very fortunate tohave him, considering his wealthof experience in trade promotion,his main function now. I alsoknow Gary from way back. Wewere both University Councilorin UP Diliman, although he be-longed to an earlier Council. Justrecently, he became my profes-sor in Language of Business(LOB) for Journalists, a shortcourse that I took at the AsianInstitute of Management (AIM).

Dr. Ernie Gonzales, Presidentof National Economic ProtectionAssociation (NEPA) is a nativeof Pateros and is among themany long term residents of hiscommunity who wants to theirportion of the Pasig River come

continued on page 7

Scientific cooperation

12 year period, OMB took cogni-zance of 9,826 criminal cases.Almost 58 percent are unre-solved, PHDR found. So are 61percent of 9,033 administrativecases.

President Gloria MacapagalArroyo scoffs at claims of OMBinstitutional rigor mortis “Fromits dismal past record, (OMB’s)conviction rate increased 500%,”she declared in her 2008 State ofthe Nation Address.

Credit Ombudsman SimeonMarcelo for that, says PHDR.From 2002 to 2006, Marcelo in-stituted reforms that “spilledover”. After Marcelo’s resigna-tion due to “ill health”, Ms. Ar-royo named the chief presiden-tial legal counsel — and FirstGentleman’s schoolmate — asOmbudsman

Under Merceditas Gutierrez,conviction rates slumped “dra-matically to 14.4 percent by firstsemester of 2008,” PHDR noted.Rates (dipped) to as low as 5 per-cent in March, then 3 percent inMay. It was zero by June — whenMs. Arroyo’s speechwriters weredrafting her 2008 Sona.

Did the presidential word-smiths know of OMB’s rapid ero-sion? If not, they should havebeen cashiered for incompetence.If they knew, then they stitchedinto Sona a lie. That, too, is a fir-ing offense. Did the Presidentknow — and consent?

Three months after Ms.Arroyo’s Sona, Sandiganbayandisposed of 349 cases. Only 25resulted in convictions: a measly7 percent. How will she reportthis shabby track record in nextmonth’s Sona? Abangan.

Led by former Senate Presi-dent Jovito Salonga, 31 civil so-ciety leaders, meanwhile, soughtto impeach Ms. Gutierrez. Theycited high profile cases: from col-lusion in bids for World Bankroad construction loans to theeuro generals scandal.

Controversy over House Reso-lution 1109 on charter changefroze action on this rap . But fewhave illusions. A Malacanangstamp-pad, the Lower House willjunk this case. Ms. Gutierrez thenjoins Luzviminda Tancangco ofComelec in a grey “honor roll”:

continued on page 7

RECENTLY, I met a friend whoarrived from the United Statesthree weeks ago. “I am stayinghere for good,” he told me. Toprove it, he said he sold all hisproperties in the US. “Theeconomy out there is not so good.I think it will become worse in thecoming years.”

During our talk, he told meof another friend who is now liv-ing in Manila. This friend, hesaid, had been in college for sev-eral years already and he nevermanaged to graduate. “Will yoube a student for life?” His friendcorrected, “No, I won’t be but Iwill always be a student of life.”

In a way, all of us are studentsof life. No one is spared from thisfact. Every day, we go throughthings that we have not experi-enced before. “Life,” RalphWaldo Emerson once said, “is asuccession of lessons, whichmust be lived to be understood.”

Goh Lay Kuan, Singapore’sdoyenne of classical dance, was19 when she commenced formaltraining as a classical ballerina.“Usually, a ballerina starts train-ing seriously from 12,” she said,“so I counted the number of ex-tra hours I needed to redeem thelost time and it came to ten hoursa day.”

For three years while study-ing at the Victorian Ballet Guildin Melbourne, Australia, Gohworked with maniacal energyand determination, practicing upto ten hours a day, six days aweek. Her efforts eventually paidoff, and she graduated with hon-ors.

In 1964, after working forvarious dance companies in Aus-tralia, Goh returned to Singa-pore where she discovered therewas no arts scene to speak of.With her playwright husband,Kuo Pan Kun, she founded thePractice Performing Arts Schooland helped push dance into thecultural mainstream while forg-ing a reputation as one of thenation’s premier dancers.

Starting from scratch in Sin-gapore, she said, “taught me thephilosophy that if you want to bea good cook, it’s important tolearn how to cook with the mini-mum ingredient. Life is shortand tortuous. One does not havea choice to arrive in or exit fromthis world. You just make thebest of what you have.”

In other words, even if she al-ready excelled in dancing, shewas still a student when it comesto running a dance school. Thegood thing is that she never quitlearning. She managed to comeup with a principle that becameher credo on life. “Life is a pro-cess of becoming, a combinationof states we have to go through,”said Anais Nin.

All of us have to go throughthe journey of life. In the film,Star Trek: Generations, CaptainJean-Luc Picard (played byPatrick Stewart) told the view-ers: “Time is a companion thatgoes with us on a journey. It re-minds us to cherish each mo-ment, because it will never comeagain.”

“Love the moment,” CoritaKent urged. “Flowers grow outof dark moments. Therefore,each moment is vital. It affectsthe whole. Life is a succession ofsuch moments and to live eachis to succeed.”

Journey is just one of themetaphors used by people to de-scribe life. J. Richard Sneed re-minded, “Life is described in oneof four ways: as a journey, as abattle, as a pilgrimage, and as arace. Select your own metaphor,but the finishing necessity is allthe same. If life is a journey, itmust be completed. If life is abattle, it must be finished. If lifeis a pilgrimage, it must be con-cluded. And if it is a race, it mustbe won.”

Live life to the fullest — don’tbe afraid to do new things. Getout from the boat, just like whatPeter did when he saw Jesus

continued on page 7

4 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009

Kakampi mo ang Batas ATTY. BATAS MAURICIO

Desisyon ng labor arbiterTANONG: Last Sept. 22, 2005 wewere issued an entry of judgment byNLRC second division for final andexecutory of our case versus ourformer employer then the said em-ployer had filed an appeal to CA lastDec. 22, 2005 and issued a TRO for60 days, the said TRO had expiredlast Feb.23, 2006 both parties as ofto date have not received any noticefrom the CA, last March 7 we hadhearing under labor arbiter FelipeGarduque ll of the first division bothparties were present, our lawyer havefiled a motion for execution and therespondent lawyer agreed and signedthe filed resolution, his only commentsaid that she don’t have any author-ity from his clients to negotiate. Ques-tions: 1. due to expiration of TROfrom CA does it mean that we hadwon the case? 2. how many days ormonth are we going to wait for themotion for execution for implemen-tation. 3. is the responded still haveother options just to delay the imple-mentation? 4. this case was filed since2002 all pertinent delaying tacticfrom the respondent we had encoun-tered can you help us to accelaratethis case ( NLRC NCR 30-04-02010-02;30-04-0211-02;30-04-02034-02;30-04-02035-02;30-04-02036-02; CANO.035602-03).

THANK YOU and hoping for yourlegal advice.

— johnpaulcruz2003@yahoo.comAnswer: Thank you, too, for this

e-mail. According to the New Rulesof Procedure of the National LaborRelations Commission, when a deci-sion rendered by the labor arbiter infavor of the workers is affirmed byNLRC commissioners, that decisionbecomes final and executory. Thismeans that the decision favoring theworkers can already be enforced andimplemented, whether or not thecompany or the employer still appealsto the Court of Appeals or the Su-preme Court. The enforcement andimplementation of the decision ofNLRC Commissioners favoring theworkers would be without prejudice

to the appeal of the management. Onyour questions: the expiration of thetemporary restraining order comingfrom the Court of Appeals does notmean that the workers have alreadywon the case. What this only meansis that, with the expiration of theTRO, there is no longer any legal pro-hibition against complying with theNew Rules of Procedure of the NLRCwhich directs the implementation ofthe decision appealed to the Court ofAppeals. On the issue of how long willit take for a decision of NLRC com-missioners favoring the workers to beimplemented, it should not take longanymore, considering that there isreally nothing more that could bedone to prevent the decision’s imple-mentation. On the question ofwhether or not the company can stilldo something to delay the implemen-tation of that decision, the answerprovided for by the rules it that, no,there is nothing more that the em-ployer can do to delay execution oncethe decision has attained finality andexecutoriness. My advice to workersalong this line is to continue pound-ing on the resolution of their motionfor execution with the arbiter and/orwith the commissioners.

Desisyong inilabas ng korte,dapat iapela kung di sang-ayon

ang isang partidoTANONG: Gusto ko lang po sanamagtanong or humingi ng legal ad-vice regarding property. Tama po baang desisyon ng korte na ilipat angpangalan ng titulo ng bahay sapinagsanlaan kung ang nagsanla ayang asawang babae na walang pa-hintulot ng mister. Kung saan pinekeang pirma ng asawang lalaki ngmismong asawa niyang babae. Tamaba na bayaran ng mister ang ha-lagang 900,000 pesos kung ang sanlaay 75,000 pesos lamang sa loob ng 3taon. Tama po ba ang ginawa nilanginterest? May batayan po ba angnaging desisyon ng korte? Ano po angdapat naming gawin?

—emmahatol@yahoo.com

Sagot: Maraming salamat po satanong na ito. Sa ilalim po ng CivilCode of the Philippines, ang isangsanlaang pinasok ng asawang babaelamang, at walang pahintulot angasawang lalaki, ay ituturing na maybisa lamang hanggang sa kalahatingbahagi na itinuturing ng batas napagmamay-ari ng isang asawa (mapa-lalaki man o mapa-babae). Ang sanlaay hindi magkakabisa sa bahagi ngasawang hindi nagbigay ng kanyangpahintulot sa nasabing sanlaan. Any-way, kung ang ganitong usapin ayumabot na sa hukuman, anuman angnaging desisyon ng korte na hindi na-gugustuhan ng mga nagtutunggalingpartido ay kailangang i-apela sa masmataas na hukuman ng agrabiyadongpartido. Kung hindi ia-apela ang na-sabing desisyon, magkakaroon na itong bisa, kahit na sinasabing ito aymali o di kaya ay hindi tugma sa ba-tas. Ayon sa Supreme Court, angisang desisyong hindi naiapela sa masmataas na hukuman ay nagigingbatas kung hindi ito kinuwestiyon ngagrabiyadong partido. Sa apela ngkaso, kailangang maging mahusayang pagkuwestiyon ng agrabiyadongpartido upang mabago ang desisyon.

Contractual employees di puwedengalisin hanggang may bisa ang kontrata

hanggang walang balidong dahilanTANONG: Tanong lang po... Con-tractual employee po ako for 3 yrs...Mag-expire po ang contract ko Feb-ruary 2010. Ang question ko po ay pu-wede po bang gawin ng employer nai-terminate ang contract anytime?Kasi ang nangyari sa akin ay tiner-minate nila ang contract nito langTuesday. Shocked po ako kasi Mon-day ok pa naman ang trabaho ko. Na-gulat na lang po ako noong Tuesdaynang kinausap ako at sinabing termi-nated na daw po ang contract ko. Maykaso po ba ako sa employer ko? Atano po ang proseso para makapag-sampa ng kaso sa employer ko? Ma-raming Salamat at Mabuhay po kayo.

— iamhere2281@yahoo.com.ph sundan sa pahina 6

Buhay Pinoy

MANDY CENTENO

BRAG ang bida sa MotorkadaBilang paghahanda, tanging pagdiriwangSa ika-50 taon na pagsilangMahal na Patrona, Sta. Isabel ang barangayLungsod ng Malolos sumasakop naman.Nobyembre 17, 1859 itinatag noonSandaa’t limampo ang taglay na taonSimpleng pagdiriwang gaganapin ngayonTatlong gintong gunita, kasiyahan iyon.Sandaa’t limampung araw paghahandaHunyo beinte uno ay nang magsimulaIsang motorkada ang doo’y ginawaNaging matagumpay at masayang lubha.Sa banal na misa ay pinasimulanTanging panalangin sa patronang mahalAt makapagsimba, sa patyo ang hintayanAng mga lumahok sa pasyal-barangay.Si Barangay Kapitan na Renan MarceloMga naka-motor ay nagtipon ditoBarangay Response Action Group o BRAG itoAng tagapangulo, Konsi Ariel Santiago.Ang kasapi ng BRAG, motorsiklo nilaPawang mga bago, disente talagaMga naka-jacket, unipormado paSerbisyo publiko ay handa talaga.Ang mga kagawad ng nasabing barangayPati ang kawani, tanod kasamahanTanging boluntaryo, nakipagtulunganGanap ikasampu, sila ay lumisan.Barangay Patrol Car may “sound system” itoNa nag-aanyaya sa lahat ng baryoBuong Pagdiriwang ay lahukan ditoMakipagtulungan, makisaya mismo.Sakop ng parokya na mga barangayAng inuna nila’y Dakila, BungahanAng tinumbok naman ay Barangay TikayAt naging pang-apat Look 2nd. naman.Pagbabalik nila’y daan sa San PabloSan Rafael, Balite, tuloy sa MaboloAng Sityo ng Fausta, dumaan din ditoAng pinakahuli ay Cofradia ito.At pinagbalikan patyo ng simbahanPinagkalooban ng pamatid-uhawPadre Fer, Padre Pros, pinasalamatanLahat lalo ang BRAG, bida sa lakaran.

Napapanahon LINDA PACIS

Talamak ang kultura ng korapsyonSA isang panayam kamakailan kaydating Judge Hermin E. Arceo, si-nabi niya na ang kultura ng koras-pyon sa lahat ng antas ng pamaha-laan ay talamak na.

Si Judge Arceo ay isang hukom,manunulat, tagasalin, tagapag-lathala at naging Comelec Registrarsa Guiguinto, Bulacan noong 1964-1972.

Namimili po ba talaga ng boto angmga kandidato?

“Wala akong nakitang matangbilihan pero naaamoy ko,” aniya.“Maaari, dahil sa karamihan ng kan-didato, mahirap manalo pagka hindika gagastos. Pagka kakaunti angpera, mahirap manalo.”

Kailan po kaya lilinis ang elek-syon?

“Hindi ko po alam,” aniya. “Pu-wedeng maghanap ng mga lider nasincere in leading the people towardsa clean administration and clean liv-ing. Pagpapakita ng mga lider na silaay hindi kumukunsinti sa koraspyon.Gaya ng moral force ni Chief JusticeReynato Puno at wastong paraan ngpamumuhay.”

Ang pinakahuling parangal natinanggap ni Judge Arceo ay ang“Gawad dangal ng Lahing Pilipino”na iginawad sa kanya ng Komisyonng Wikang Pilipino noong Agosto 29,2008. Bukod tangi siyang Bulaken-yong nagkamit ng ganoong parangal.

Marami siyang aklat na naisulatat naisalin sa Wikang Pilipino gayang: Ang Batas ng PamahalaangPampook (A translation into Filipinoof Batas Pambansa Blg. 337); SanLorenzo Ruiz — Ang kauna-una-hang Santong Pilipino (A translationinto Filipino of the “Making of theFirst Filipino Saint” by AmbassadorAntonio C. Delgado); ang Batas ngPamahalaang Lokal ng 1991 (A

translation into Filipino of the Lo-cal Government Code of 1991, Re-public Act No. 7160); Ang mgaKautusan at Alintuning Nagpapatu-pad sa Batas ng Pamahalaang Lokalng 1991 (A translation into Filipinoof the Rules of Regulations andimplementing the Local GovernmentCode of 1991); Ang Primer ng La-lawigan (A translation into Filipinoof the Primer on the Province); AngPrimer ng Lungsod (A translationinto Filipino of the Primer of theCity); Ang Primer ng Bayan (Atranslation into Filipino of thePrimer on the Municipality); AngPrimer ng Barangay (A translationinto Filipino of the Primer of theBarangay); at ang Mga Kautusan atAlituntunin ng Katarungang Pam-barangay (A translation into Filipinoof the Rules and Regulations onBarangay Justice).

“Gusto kong mapanatili at mapa-laganap ang wikang Pilipino,” ani nghuwes.

Para sa kanya, ang role of a fa-ther ay upang gumawa ng isangpamilya na ikararangal ng pama-yanan, ng lipunan at ng bansa.

Magtagumpay kaya siya?“Di ko masasabi,” sagot niya.

“Ang tagumpay ng isang tao aymasusukat lamang kung nakapikitna ang kanyang mga mata.”

Si Judge Arceo 68 ay taon na,banker, practicing lawyer at real es-tate broker.

Nagtapos siya ng elementary saPulilan Elementary School at highschool sa St. Dominic Academy,Pulilan, Bulacan. Nakatapos siya ngBachelor of Laws sa Far Eastern Uni-versity (FEU) at nakapasa sa BarExamination noong 1964. Nag-postgraduate studies siya sa Universityof Sto. Tomas noong 2974. Itinuloy

niya ang poagkadalubhasa sa batassa Amerika sa mga sumusunod: Na-tional Judicial college, University ofNevada, Reno (1980); National Col-lege of District attorneys, Universityof Houston, Texas (1980); NationalCollege of Criminal Defense, BatesCollege of Law, University of Hous-ton, Texas (1980); The Free LegalAid Clinic, Bates College of Law, Uni-versity of Houston, Texas (1987);Academy of American and Interna-tional Law, University of Texas atTexas, Dallas, Texas (1993)’ Califor-nia Center for Judicial Educationand Reseasrch, University of Califor-nia at Berkeley, CA (1995).

Sa Pilipinas, nahasa siya sa iba’t-ibang conventions na kanyang dina-luhan gaya ng: Manila World LawConference, Philippine InternationalConvention Center (PICC), Manila;ASEAN Law Association Conven-tion, PICC, Manila; U.P. Law CenterSeminar, Angeles City; at maramipang iba.

Labimpitong taon siyang lawpractitioner. Mayroon siya law officesa Malolos City, Bulacan ang HerminArceo and Associates Law Office.Siya ay miyembro ng KINABUKASAN(Kilusang nagkakaisang Bulakenyosa Kabutihan ng Sambayanan.

Sa nakaraang Halamanan Festi-val 2009 sa Guiguinto, Bulacan aytumanggap siya ng Gawad Pagkilalamula kay Mayor Isagani Pascual.

Si Judge Arceo ay kasal kayEstelita Santos at mayroon silangapat na anak, sina: Bokal ArielArceo; si Rachel na nagtapos ng FineArts sa U.P. at kasalukuyang nanini-rahan sa Amerika; si Carol nanagtapos ng abogasya; at si Ethel naisang industrial engineer at nasaAmerika. Mayroon na rin silanganim na apo.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Cebu Calling from page 3

Our predicament is that our natural tendency fortruth, and everything that truth stands for—joy, peace,beauty, harmony, etc.—is almost always abducted andfrustrated by an endless number of causes and factors.

We tend to get stuck at a certain point, or at a certainlevel. We don’t want to go on, since we tend to be heldcaptive perhaps by comfort, laziness, ignorance, lack offaith, pride, greed, attachments to worldly things, angerand the unruly movements of our passions, etc.

In short, we use our powerful faculties not to seek andlove God, who is the ultimate and constant truth for allof us, but to seek and love ourselves.

And so we fall into the predicament spelled out in theLetter of St. James: “Who is wise and instructed amongyou? Let him by his good behavior show his work in themeekness of wisdom.

“But if you have bitter jealousy and contentions inyour hearts, do not glory and be liars against the truth.This is not the wisdom that descends from above. It isearthly, sensual, devilish. For where there is envy andcontentiousness, there is instability and every wickeddeed.

“But the wisdom that is from above is first of all chaste,then peaceable, moderate, docile, in harmony with goodthings, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging,without dissimulation.” (3,13-18)

http://mabuhaynews.come-mail: mabuhaynews25@yahoo.com

JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 5

Lively town’s stench of deathBY RUBEN B. CAL / PNA

BOCAUE, Bulacan — The stenchof death bespeaks the gloom hang-ing over this lively town of Bocaue— home of fireworks and cabarets— as residents mourned the deathof at least 278 people in the worstfluvial tragedy in the country.

The disaster is particularlypainful because most of the fami-lies living near the banks of theBocaue river have children orrelatives who drowned in thesinking of a pagoda boat Fridaynight, July 2. It was just two daysbefore the town fiesta.

Divers from the PhilippineNavy and Coast Guard have re-trieved 248 bodies from themurky river as of 4 p.m. July 3.Another 22 persons reportedmissing are believed dead, ac-cording to Brig. Gen. EugenioReyes, commander of the Na-tional Capital Region DefenseCommand (NCRDC) who is su-pervising the rescue operations.

“We expect bloated bodies tosurface later this afternoon orearly evening,” Reyes said.

Three teams of frogmen fromthe navy and Coast Guard havebeen scouring the Bocaue riverfor drowning victims since Fri-day night when the floatingshrine bearing the town’s pa-tron, Krus ng Wawa (HolyCross), capsized. The floatingshrine was believed to have some500 people on board.

Antoniete Borromeo, a CoastGuard frogman told the Philip-pines News Agency (PNA) Sat-urday afternoon he had recov-ered 15 bodies, mostly those of

young boys and girls and twopregnant women.

He said rescue operation havebeen hampered by the zero vis-ibility of the murky river.

“Like the blind, we just doveand groped our way touchingobjects to determine if these arehuman,” Borromeo said.

Despite the difficulty, he saidfrogmen continued to search thearea where the floating pagodasank, hoping to find more vic-tims.

Borromeo said that althoughfrogmen are said to have nervesof steel, he choked when he sawa pregnant woman clutching hersix-month-old baby in her breast.

He said he could barely stom-ach the tragic sight. But the jobhad to be done. He retrieved thebodies and brought them to awaiting rubber boat.

Many of the shocked specta-tors who saw the dead motherand child held their tears backby biting their lips.

Senior Supt. Romeo Acop,Bulacan provincial director ofthe Philippine National Police(PNP), said that his intelligenceofficer, Chief Inspector DaniloGarcia, his wife and their childdied in the tragedy.

Interior and Local Govern-ment Secretary Rafael AlunanIII who rushed to Bocaue saidoverloading of the floating shrineresulted in the worst river disas-ter in living memory.

The Bocaue tragedy recalledthe sinking of the MV Doña Pazin the late ’80s off Mindoro Is-land. As many as 5,000 peopledied in that disaster.

But the fluvial processionmishap was doubly tragic consid-ering that the disaster occurredin a 60 meter wide river wherehelp could have been immediateand yet many drowned.

The floating pagoda wasplaced on three boats for the flu-vial prayer novena for Bocaue’spatron “Krus ng Wawa” in con-nection with the annual town fi-esta on Sunday, July 4.

Jose Salonga Jr., 48, a devo-tee, agreed with SecretaryAlunan that the boat was over-loaded.

Salonga who witnessed thesinking said he saw the pagodatilting to the right when a num-ber of passengers suddenlyrushed to the port side.

He said he could not under-stand why the organizers of theriver procession allowed theoverloaded floating shrine to de-part.

Salonga said he was about 100meters from the floating pagodawhen it departed from where itwas moored.

He said he even heard theloudspeaker blare that the pa-goda would not depart unlesssome of the passengers disem-barked.

He said some people heededthe call to disembark but a num-ber went back, followed by athrong of devotees.

“From the start it was obvi-ous that the boat was over-loaded,” Salonga said.

He said he just shook his headin disbelief as the tragedy un-folded before his eyes.

Dambana ng Krus sa Wawa: Pananda ng pag-alala sa mga yumaoNI DINO BALABO

BOCAUE, Bulacan—Hindinamin kayo malilimutan.

Ang mga katagang itoay hindi bahagi ng isangawit, sa halip ay simplengmensaheng hindi nasu-sulat ngunit ipinahihiwatigng itinayong kapilya sakanang gilid ng Simbahanni St. Martin of Tours sabayang ito.

Ang nasabing kapilya aybinasbasan at pinasina-yaan noong Hulyo 3, 2003,o 10 taon matapos angtrahedyang kumitil sa bu-hay ng 264 na deboto ngKrus sa Wawa.

Ang kapilya ay ang pa-malagiang pinaglalagakanng Krus sa Wawa at nag-sisilbi ring pang-diyosesisna dambana nito.

Ang altar ng kapilya aynakakatulad ng pagodangginagamit sa prusisyon sailog, samantalang nasagawing likod ng kapilyaang isang maliit na museokung saan ay matatagpuanang may 30 maliliit o min-iature pagoda na nilikha niDr. Marciano D. Yanga.

Ayon kay Reggie DelaFuente, ang pangulo ngParish Pastoral Council(PPC) ng bayang ito, angdisenyo ng bawat minia-ture pagoda na ginawa niDr. Yanga ay katulad ngdisenyo ng aktuwal na pa-goda na ginamit sa pru-sisyon sa ilog.

Bukod sa kakaibangdisensyo ng altar at maliitna museo, mapapansin dinsa isang poste ng kapilyaang isang panandang metalkung saan ay nakasulat ngpangalan ng 264 na bik-tima ng “pagoda tragedy”noong Hunyo 2, 1993.

“Sa ilaw ng walanghanggan, kapayapaan kai-lan ma’y pagkamitin ngMaykapal. Ang mga giliwnaming pumanaw sa pilingmo poong Mahal.”

Ito ang mga katagangnakasulat sa panandangmetal kung saan ay naka-tala rin ang pangalan nganak at mga pamangkin ni

Carie Santiago, ang market-ing officer ng Mabuhay.

Ang mga pangalang na-katala sa pananda ay angmga sumusunod: Agapito,Maricel; Agapito, Marie;Agapito, Reynaldo; Aga-pito, Robert; Alejandro,Elenita; Almonte, Jojo;Almonte, Julius; Almorin,Honor; Andam, Jayson;Andam, Julieta; Andres,Anabelle; Andres, Fortuna.

Andres, Lydia, Andres,Marife; Andres, Mario; An-geles, Evelyn; Arcilla, Ber-nadette; Avenido, Rosalian;Balatay, Lolita; Balinagay,Jocelyn; Barsaga, Darwin;Batalla, Roger; Batalla,Warren; Bayani, Rea.

Benedicto, Wilma; Ber-nabe Ann Margaret; Ber-

nabe, Marites; Bernabe,Priscilla; Bernabe, Erbert;Binalla, Angelina; Blas,Belen; Blas, Ma. Juanita;Borbe, Carol; Borbe Jenny;Borbe, Roger; Borbon,Jemmelyn.

Borbon, May Jane;Brecia, Michael; Buenaflor,Priscilla; Bulig, Sahjid;Cabigao, Anna Rose; Ca-cao, John Richard; Caldo,Lina; Capalad, Priscilla;Carpio, Jasmine; Casano,Aaron; Casano, Aiza; Cas-tillo, Hupert.

Castillo, Ramir; Cas-tillo, Ulysis; Castro Ma-rina; Celestino, Arsenio;Celestino, Ma. Rosario;Celestino, Marife; David,Jonah Rica; David Lanelle;David, Lourdes; De Guz-

man, Anna Marie; De Guz-man; Emy.

De Guzman, Fatima; DeGuzman, Fortunato; DeGuzman, Luzviminda; DeGuzman, Rogelio; De Je-sus, Elenita; De Jesus, Ma.Theresa; De Leon, Joyce;De Leon, Sir William; DeVera, Naciano; Del Rosario,Isabel, Cheska; Del Rosa-rio, Proceso; Del RosarioRobin.

Del Rosario, Rosalina;Del Rosario, Rowena; DelaCruz, Amy; Dela Cruz,Anastacia; Dela Cruz,Browny; Dela Cruz, Ele-nita; Dela Cruz, Elizabeth;Dela Cruz, Emelita; DelaCruz, Ernesto Jr.; DelaCruz, Hilda, Dela Cruz,Jimmy; Dela Cruz, Leo.

Dela Cruz, Ligaya; DelaCruz, Marlon; Dela Cruz,Mary Jane; Dela Cruz,Maureen; Dela Cruz, Ne-nita; Dela Cruz, Nilda;Dela Cruz, Ofelia; DelaCruz, Raquel; Dela Cruz,Thelma; Dela Rama Ma-nuel; Delos Reyes, Magda-lena; Doecareza, Emiliano.

Deocareza, Imelda; Dio-nisio, Edalyn; Dumayag,Katherine; Dumayag, Mar-celina; Ebreo, Pacita;Ebreo, Rachel; Ebreo, Rac-quel; Embudo, Amalia;Embudo, Mariz; Embudo,Rizza; Embudo, Winnie;Enriquez, Rosa.

Erispe, Abigail; Erispe,Allen; Erispe, Ellen; Esma,Luisa; Espiritu, Ma. Ro-sario; Estanislao, Perlita;

Eugenio, Ma.Lanica; Euge-nio, Yolanda; Fernandez,Lalaine; Flores, Aahron;Fontanilla, Evelyn;Fruelda, Michelle.

Garcia, Captain Danilo;Garcia, Dolores; Garcia,Emmanuel; Garcia, Ma.Luz; German, Daniel; Glo-rian, John Kenneth; Glo-rian, Mark, Christian; Glo-rian, Mary Ann; Gomez,Lolita; Gomez, Victorino,Sr.; Gonzales, Jayson; Gon-zales, Jennifer.

Guray, Romilyn; Hara,Imelda; Hara, Mark Robin;Herra, Cherylyn; Hilario,Marijon; Jadarmeo, MaryGrace; Javier, Janice; Jime-nez, Gloria; Landicho, My-lene; Lapid, Jesse; Lapid,

sundan sa pahina 6

KABAYANIHAN NI SAJID BULIG — Narito ang mga ulat atlarawan sa sipi ng Mabuhay noong Hulyo 9-16, 1993, isang linggomatapos ang malagim na trahedya ng pagtaob ng pagoda ng Krussa Wawa sa kailugan ng Bocaue, Bulacan noong Hulyo 2, 1993.Tampok ang kabayanihan ni Sajid Bulig, 13, na nag-alay ng kanyangsariling buhay sa pagsagip sa anim na kapwa niya kabataan.

6 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESSUPREME COURT

OFFICE OF THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFFMALOLOS CITY, BULACAN

LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES

Mortgagee,

- versus -

SPS. CLEMENTE ANDMARILYN DOMANTAY,

Mortgagor/s,

X————————————X

NOTICE OF THE SHERIFF’S SALEUpon extra-judicial petition for sale under act 3135 as amended by Act4118 filed by LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES, with principal officeaddress at Land Bank Plaza, 1598 M. H. Del Pilar St. cor. Dr. J. QuintosSt. Malate, Metro Manila with branch office address at Land BankBulacan Lending Center, Sumapang Matanda, McArthur Highway,Malolos, Bulacan against SPS. CLEMENTE and MARILYN DOMANTAY,with residence and postal address at No. 257 L. Hernandez St., Partida,San Miguel, Bulacan the mortgagor/s to satisfy the mortgage indebt-edness which as of December 24, 2008 amounts to SIX HUNDREDFORTY FIVE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED NINETY TWO & 40/100 PE-SOS (P645,192.40) Philippine Currency, including/ excluding interestthereon, including/excluding _____of the total indebtedness by way ofattorney’s fees, plus daily interest and expenses and thereafter, alsosecured by said mortgage, and such other amounts which may be-come due and payable to the aforementioned mortgagee, the Ex-Offi-cio Sheriff of Bulacan through the undersigned Sheriff hereby givesnotice to all interested parties to the public in general that on JULY 30,2009 at 10:00 A.M. or soon thereafter, in front of the Office of the Ex-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan, located at the back of the Bulwagan ngKatarungan, Provincial Capitol Compound, Malolos City, Bulacan willsell at public auction through sealed bidding to the highest bidder forCASH and in Philippine Currency, the described real property/ies be-low together with all the improvements existing thereon:

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF THE TITLE NO. RT-2886 (T-298855)“A parcel of land (Lot 2392-A-2-A of the subd. plan LRC Psd-328000,Approved as a non-subd. project, being a portion of Lot2392-A-2 LRCPsd-227243 LRC Cad. Rec. No. 707), situated in the Bo. Of Partida,Municipality of San Miguel, Prov. of Bul. Is. of Luzon. xx xx xx Contain-ing an area of FIVE THOUSAND (5,000) SQ. M. more or less.”

This Notice of the Sheriff’s sale will be posted for a period of twenty(20) days in three (3) conspicuous public places in the municipalitywhere the subject property/ies is/are located and at Malolos City,Bulacan where the sale shall take place and likewise a copy will bepublished for the same period in the Mabuhay a newspaper of generalcirculation in the province of Bulacan, once a week for three (3) con-secutive weeks before the date of the auction sale.

All sealed bids with its accompanying transmittal letter addressed tothis office must be submitted to the undersigned on or before theabove stated date and hour at which time all sealed bids thus submit-ted shall be opened.

In the event the public auction would not take place on the said date, itshall be held on AUGUST 6, 2009 at 10 A.M. or soon thereafter withoutfurther notice.

Prospective bidders or buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate forthemselves the little to the property/ies and encumbrance thereon, ifany there be.

Malolos City, Bulacan, June 30, 2009

EMMANUEL L. ORTEGA

Ex-Officio sheriff

SILVESTRE J. ESGUERRA

Sheriff IVCopy furnished: All parties concerned

Mabuhay: June 26, July 3 & 10 , 2009

E.J.F. NO. 159-2009

EXTRA-JUDICAL FORELOSURE OFREAL ESTATE PROPERTY/IES

UNDER ACT 3135 AS AMMENDEDBY ACT 4118

WARNING: Do not remove,deface or destroy this noticeon or before the date saleunder penalty of law

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

Third Judicial RegionCity of Malolos, Bulacan

Branch 21

SP. PROC. NO. 143-M-2009

IN THE MATTER OF A CHANGE INMIDDLE NAME OF DELOS SANTOS TOSANTOS

NESTOR DELOS SANTOS CUSTODIO,

Petitioner,

- versus -

THE CIVIL REGISTRAR OF MALOLOSCITY, BULACAN, THE SOLICITORGENERAL AND THE CITYPROSECUTOR OF MALOLOS,

Respondents,

X————————————X

ORDERThis is a verified petition “Re: In the Matter of a Change of MiddleName of delos Santos to Santos”, filed by the petitioner through coun-sel, who alleges that he is of legal age , Filipino, widower and a resi-dent of Barangay Balite, Malolos City, Bulacan; that he was born onSeptember 8, 1955, and his father’s name is Marcial Custodio, whilehis mother’s name is Conrada delos Santos; that his birth cer tificateshows that his middle name is Delos Santos; that his school recordsuntil he finished college bears the middle name Santos; that he hasbeen using the middle name Santos for a very long period of time asshown in the following identification cards:

Date of Issue Issued by:

a. TIN October 31, 1991 B.I.R.b. Home Development Mutual fund HDMFc. Voter’s I.D. COMELEC

that he has been employed with Cooperative Rural Bank of Bulacansince 1978 and is now its General Manager; from the time of his en-gagement with the said bank to this day he has been known to use themiddle name of Santos as certified by the bank’s Human ResourcesDepartment head Ms. Marivic dela Peña; that he desires to change themiddle name from delos Santos to Santos in his birth certificate toavoid confusion and because he has been known to use the said middlename since childhood and not merely for convenience.

WHEREFORE, the instant petition is hereby set for hearing on Novem-ber 24, 2009 at 2:00 P.M. before this Branch located at the NewBulwagan ng Katarungan, Provincial Capitol Compound, City of Malolos,Bulacan, on which time and place all persons concerned may appearand show cause why this petition should not be granted.

Let copies of this Order, together with the Petition and its annexes, befurnished the Local Civil Registrar of Malolos City, Bulacan, the Na-tional Statistics Office, Edsa Corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, theOffice of the Solicitor General at the expense of the petitioner. Further,He is also directed to cause the publication hereof once a week forthree (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation inthe province of Bulacan. Finally, the Local Civil Registrar of MalolosCity, Bulacan and any person having or claiming any interest under theentry whose correction is sought herein, may, within fifteen (15) daysfrom notice or from the last date of such notice, file their oppositionthereto.

SO ORDERED.

City of Malolos, Bulacan, June 17, 2009

Original signed

JAIME V. SAMONTEPresiding judge

Copy furnished: All parties concerned

Mabuhay: June 26, July 3 & 10 , 2009

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESLOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE

PROVINCE: BULACANCITY/MUNICIPALITY: OBANDO

NOTICE FOR PUBLICATIONIn compliance with Section 5 of R.A. Act No. 9048, a notice is herebyserved to the public that PRISCILA DE JESUS ANASTACIO has filedwith this Office a petition for change of first name from PRESIE toPRISCILA in the birth cer tificate of PRISCILA E. DE JESUS who wasborn on 16 January 1957 at Obando, Bulacan, Philippines and whoseparents are Pascual De Jesus and Pilar Elarco.

Any person adversely affected by said petition may file this writtenopposition with this Office not later than -0-.

SGD. PEDRO SEVILLAMunicipal Civil Registry

Mabuhay: June 26 & July 3, 2009

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESLOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE

PROVINCE: BULACANCITY/MUNICIPALITY: OBANDO

NOTICE FOR PUBLICATIONIn compliance with Section 5 of R.A. Act No. 9048, a notice is herebyserved to the public that PRISCILA DE JESUS ANASTACIO has filedwith this Office a petition for change of first name from SALOMONPASCUAL to SOLOMON in the bir th cer tificate of SOLOMON B.ANASTACIO who was born on 08 May 1961 at Obando, Bulacan,Philippines and whose parents are Esteban Anastacio and MagdalenaBaltazar.

Any person adversely affected by said petition may file this writtenopposition with this Office not later than -0-.

SGD. PEDRO SEVILLAMunicipal Civil Registry

Mabuhay: June 26 & July 3, 2009

Sagot: Maraming salamat atmabuhay din po kayo. Sa ilalim ngCivil Code at Labor Code of the Phil-ippines, ang isang kontrata o kasun-duan sa pagitan ng dalawang panig,kahit na ito ay contract of employ-ment, ay batas sa kanilang pagitanna dapat nilang sundin. Ang ibig sa-bihin nito, kung ang kontrata ay nag-sasabing ang trabaho ng isang mang-gagawa ay matatapos dapat sa naka-takdang panahon, dapat hintayin angpaglipas ng panahong iyan upangmaalis ang manggagawa sa trabaho.Kung babalewalain ng sinuman samga nakalagda sa nasabing kontrataang kanilang kasunduan ng walangsapat na batayan, maaaring sam-pahan ng kaso ang lumabag sakasunduan. Ang tawag sa kasong itoay breach of contract, at, batay sa

batas, maaaring pagbayarin ngdanyos perhuwisiyos ang lumabag sakontrata, at pati na ng mga sahod atiba pang benepisyo na dapat tang-gapin ng manggagawa. Magkaga-nunman, dahil ang kontrata sa pag-gawa ay nakasalalay sa patuloy namahusay na pagganap ng mang-gagawa sa kanyang mga tungkulin,hindi naman nawawalan ng kara-patan ang employer na alisin angmanggagawa sa trabaho. Kaya la-mang, kailangang ipaliwanag ng em-ployer ang dahilan kung bakit niyainaalis ang manggagawa, kahit nahindi pa natatapos ang kanyang kon-trata. Bagamat hindi maaaringmagpumilit ang manggagawa namagpatuloy sa kanyang trabaho ma-tapos ang panahong nakasaad sa kan-yang kontrata, hindi din naman

pupuwedeng basta na lamang tang-galin ng employer ang manggagawa,sa panahong umiiral ang kontrata ngpaggawa ng walang sapat na batayan.

***PAALALA: Panoorin po si Atty.Batas Mauricio sa worldwide TV saInternet, sa YouTube, metacafe atiGoogle, at pakinggan siya sa kan-yang mga programa sa radyo: DZRBRADYO NG BAYAN 738 khz. SaLuzon, Lunes hanggang Biyernes,ika-5:30 ng umaga (at sawww.pbs.gov.ph); DZRM RADYOMAGASIN, 1278 Khz. sa Luzon,Lunes hanggang Biyernes, ika-6:45ng umaga (at sa www.pbs.gov.ph);DYKA 801 khz. sa San Jose, Antique(at sa www.wowantique.com, owww.kiniray-a.com), Lunes-Biyenes,ika-10:00 ng umagang umaga.

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Kakampi mo ang Batas from page 3

mula sa pahina 5Jocelyn, Lapid, Jon-jon.

Lazaro, Emelita; LInsangan, Jessica; Macaraeg, Joel;Manlapig, Joel; Manlapig, Citadel; Manlapig, Ferdinand;Malapig, Joy; Manlapig, Lani; Manlapig, Luisa; Manlapig,Rebecca; Manlapig, Ruby; Mansalay, Irene; Maquiddong,Christopher.

Maquiddong, Frederick, Martinez, Benedicto; Mateo,Francis Erwin; Mendoza, Crispin; Mendoza, Editha, ;Mendoza, Felizberta; Mendoza, Francisca; Mendoza,Jemmy Lyn; Mendoza, Jocelyn; Mendoza, Leah; Mendoza,Leo; Mendoza, Lolita.

Mendoza, Pacita; Mercado, Dorothy; Miniano,Rhealyn; Nalagon, Jennie; Navarro, Juanito; Nicolas,Daniel; Nicolas, Leonora; Nicolas, Nelson; Nicolas,Rhodora; Nicolas, Zenaida; Orozco, Gilbert; Palon, Ma.Ditas.

Pacual, Andrea; Pascual, Rodelia; Pineda, Asuncion;Pineda, Jarcy; Pineda, Leonora; Populi, Michelle;Porciuncula, Dante; Quiambao, Arnold; Quiambao,Ciriaco, Jr.; Ramirez, Avelina; Ramos, Jennifer; Ramos,Jesusa.

Ramos, Ma. Candelaria; Ramos, Maricel; Ramos,Rodelio; Reyes, Benirose; Reynante, Franz; Rivera,Chona; Roxas, Daisy; Roxas, Johnson; Roxas, Oliver;Ruby, Gary; Ruby, Louie; Ruby, Michelle.

Sabillon, Rosario; Sacdalan, Renata; Salonga, Rosalia;Salvador, Cristina; Salvador, Cristina; Salvador,Hermogenia; San Buenaventura, Winston; San Gabriel,Maria; San Pascual, Carolina; San Pedro, Arlene; SanPedro, Elmer; San Pedro, Elvira.

San Pedro, Jennifer; Sanchez, Leopoldo; Santiago,Amalia; Santiago, Angelines; Santiago, Emil; Santiago,Fidel; Santiago, Gerardo; Santiago, Joseph; Santiago,Ma.Cristina; Santiago, Rita; Santiago, Zenaida; Santos,Cindy.

Santos, Dorothy; Santos, Joy; Santos, Lielyn; Santos,Rina; Santos, Rosita; Santos, Rowena; Serrano, Lawrence;Silva, Marilou; Silva, Myra; Simplicio, Irene; Solmira,Glen, Sotocua, Renata.

Tabason, Angel, Tajan, Nenita; Tante, Carolina;Tejada, Jony; Tolentino, Julieta; Tonga, Beverly; Tonga,Evelyn; Torres, Karren; Tuazon, Marian; Tuazon,Marietta; Tuazon, Raymond; Valeriano, Elvira.

Vargas, Juvell; Velazquez, Christopher; Venido, Gina;Viernes, Maribel; Villanueva, Edison; Villanueva, Glecille;Villarin, Mario; Villarin, Mitchie; Visaya, Jacqueline;Yarte, Marlene; Zaballa, Leah, Zafra, Jovita.

mula sa pahina 1Ayon kina Regie Dela Fuente, taga-pangulo ng PPC, at

Rodelio Concepcion, tagapag-ugnay ng PPC, maramingpagbabago ang kanilang ipinatupad sa paggawa ngpagodang gagamitin sa prusisyon sa ilog upang matiyakang kaligtasan ng mga lalahok sa taunang pagdiriwang.

Una, ani Concepcion, mas maliit ang pagodanggagamitin kumpara sa ginamit noong 1993; ikalawa, angpagiging maliit ng pagoda ay nangangahulugan na limitadoang bilang ng sasakay doon; at ikatlo, ang paglalayag ngpagoda ay isasagawa lamang sa araw ng kapiyestahan,hindi katulad noong bago maganap ang trahedya na halosisang linggong gabi-gabing naglalayag ito at tigib ng sakayna tao.

Ayon kay Concepcion, ang pagodang gagamitin saLinggo ay unang ginamit noong 2006, nang simulan muliang prusisyon sa ilog.

“Reusable ’yung pagoda natin,” aniya, ”dahil mga drumna plastic ang nagpapalutang doon at may platform na maylapad na 20 talampakan at may habang 30 talampakankung saan itinatayo ’yung disenyo ng pagoda.”

Ang dating pinagsasakyan ng pagoda ay mga pituya napinagdikit-dikit at nilapatan ng mga tabla na nagsilbingplatform o tuntungan ng mga taong sumasakay doon.

Ayon kay Concepcion, noong 2006 ay 60 drum napinagdikit-dikit ang gamit nila, ngunit ngayong 2009 itoay dinagdagan pa nila ng 12 upang mgaing higit na matatagiyon.

Ang mga taong sasakay sa platform ay limitado lamangsa 50, ani ng tagapag-ugnay ng PPC sa pagpapagawa ngpagoda.

“Kung tutuusin ay mas nakakatipid kami ngayon dahilresuable yung platform ng pagoda, hindi katulad noongbago maganap ang tragedy na taun-taon ay nagrerentakami ng pituya,” aniya.

Sinabi naman ni Dela Fuente na simula noong 2006 aymuling nagbalik ang sigla ng pagdiriwang ng piyesta ngKrus sa Wawa.

“Nakabangon na ang mga tao, naghilom na ang sugatna iniwan ng trahedya,” ani Dela Fuente na nagsisilbingco-chairman ni Fr. Jovi Sebastian sa PPC.

Si Father Sebastian ang kura paroko ng parokya ng St.Martin of Tours sa Bocaue.

Ayon kay Dela Fuente, noon lamang 2006 mulingnagsagawa ng prusisyon sa ilog na nagsilbing hudyat parasa muling pagbuhay ng tradisyong “ligiran”.

Ang “ligiran” ay nagsimula ilang taon mataposmatagpuang nakalutang ang isang itim na krus sabunganga ng ilog ng Bocaue noong 1850.

Ito ay tinawag na “Krus sa Wawa” at naging sentro ngdebosyon ng mga residente matapos magpakita ng mgahimala. Ang una ay noong 1868 kung kailan nasunog angsimbahan ng bayan, ngunit himalang natira at hindinasunog ang itim na krus.

Sinundan ito ng mga sunod-sunod na kalamidad simulanoong 1881 katulad ng malakas na lindol at mapanalantangbagyo na naghatid ng pagkalat ng epidemya ng kolera.

Sa kabila ng mga kalamidad na ito, nakabangon angbayan ng Bocaue dahil sa debosyon ng mga residente saMahal na Krus sa Wawa.

Noon namang 1891, sinabi ng mga matatanda na sahindi malamang dahilan ay biglang nawala ang mga isdasa kailugan ng Bocaue. Ngunit, matapos magsagawa ngsiyam na araw na novena o “lotrina” ay muling nagbalikang maraming isda sa kailugan.

Dambana ng Krus sa Wawa

Pagodang gagamitin

JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 7

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Regarding Henry from page 3

Those who cases were never decidedon merit.

“Let her be,” snapped the FirstGentleman. “We were not classmatesmerely schoolmates, he added. “Butlet her do her job.” And she did justthat.

“Performance and trust were fur-ther undermined by OMB’s action —or inaction — on high profile cases,”PHDR notes. “These include the P2billion purchase of automated count-ing machines by the Commission onElections from Mega Pacific for the2004 elections, the $2 million brib-ery case involving former JusticeSecretary Hernani Perez, the P728million fertilizer fund scam and the($328) million NBN-ZTE broadbanddeal.”

“The slide in performance andcredibility (stems) from the undoingby the incumbent Ombudsman of thevery institutional reforms that pre-viously strengthened the organiza-tion,” the report adds.

From 2002 to 2006, Marcelo

beefed up the OMB’s miniscule staffof 37 to over 100. He cobbled linkswith civil society and interfaithgroups while boosting agency fund-ing. Above all, he set the example.

Public perception of OMB sincer-ity in curbing corruption climbed to+28 percent in 2004, from the -5percent, set by the distrusted AnianoDesierto in 2000.

Marcelo resigned, claiming ill-ness. Reports persisted that Malaca-ñang leaned on OMB to favorfriends.

Ms. Gutierrez, in contrast, sys-tematically stripped deputy ombuds-men for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanoof cases involving governors andvice-governors. She re-centralizeddecisions in herself. About 36 per-cent of prosecutor’s jobs are vacant.

“Most unfortunate … is her dis-mantling of the Inter-Agency GraftCoordinating Council, PHDR notes.“OMB simply did not convene thecouncil.” That shut out the Commis-sion on Audit and Civil Service Com-

mission. She also hang up on criticalcivil societies.

Public perception of OMB’s sin-cerity in battling corruption plum-meted to +4 precent, Social WeatherStations found. This was a nosedivefrom the +28 percent Marcelo set.

Is OMB burnishing it’s tatteredimage? Recently, it offered to inves-tigate burying of medicine inPangasinan. Yet, this agency tooktwo years to even read a World Bankreport on collusion in bid rigging.

OMB and other constitutional of-fices play a critical role in maintain-ing the quality of governance. Suchagencies need to be held to a higherstandard.

“Are recent changes in OMBdriven by partisanship? Or aremerely basic managerial style differ-ences, even technical incomptence?“Such a question ideally should noteven arise,” PHDR says. But they do,and like the “Mona Lisa” song of1950, they haunt us.

— juanlmercado@gmail.com

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Forward to Basics from page 3

priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus." It is as thoughour Lord were living his own words when He said, “Whereyour treasure is, there also is your heart.”

What makes a treasure? It is definitely something inits priceless qualities. But its value is not something givenby the object itself, but by the one who gives it a specificimportance. Thus, water to a man dying of thirst is morevaluable than all the gold of the world.

This is and must be the only consolation of priestsand seminarians: to have God as their appraiser. Sinceeternity, God has searched for them, found them, andprepared them and finally possessed them with the priceof His Precious Blood to be holy and unblemished beforeHis presence.

Therefore, as His treasures, the sacred ministers can-not be passive to the grace of the priesthood. They muststrive each day to be attractive to God, to be more valu-able and useful by serving through the constant effort tobecome witnesses of prayer, of sacrifice and of being gen-erous dispensers of the Sacraments of God, especiallythrough the devote celebration of the Holy Mass andthrough the fatherly dispensation of God’s forgivenessin the Sacrament of Penance.

Benedict XVI writes that “Pope Paul VI rightly noted,‘modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than toteachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is becausethey are witnesses.’ Lest we experience existential emp-tiness and the effectiveness of our ministry be compro-mised, we need to ask ourselves ever anew: ‘Are we trulypervaded by the Word of God? Is that Word truly the nour-ishment we live by, even more than bread and the thingsof this world? Do we really know that Word? Do we loveit? Are we deeply engaged with this Word to the pointthat it really leaves a mark on our lives and shapes ourthinking?’”

Only by sincerely living these points will we no longerproject ourselves, but only the brilliance of God’s Fatherlylove, mercy, and peace. This is what authentically awak-ens our brothers and sisters to the perennial value of theirChristian calling and thus become gifts of God.

As the priest strives to be more precious to the eyes ofGod, Christ hides him for Himself within His SacredHeart, like a treasure hidden in a field, like a pearl ofgreat price. Then one day, St. John Mary Vianney says,“In Heaven will he fully realize what he is.” There hewill be shown how he was God’s delight and the consola-tion and joy of the blessed in Heaven.

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Depthnews from page 3

Christ walking on top of the water.He wanted to experience what it waslike to walk like what His Master did.

“Twenty years from now you willbe more disappointed by the thingsyou didn't do than by the ones youdid do,” Mark Twain advised. “Sothrow off the bowlines. Sail awayfrom the safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream.Discover.”

“Security is mostly a supersti-tion,” Helen Keller points out. “Itdoes not exist in nature, nor do thechildren of men as a whole experi-ence it. Avoiding danger is no saferin the long run than outright expo-sure. Life is either a daring adven-ture or nothing.” Or as James F.Bymes puts it: “Too many people arethinking of security instead of oppor-tunity. They seem to be more afraidof life than death.”

And that is what learning is allabout. When we were still students,we either pass or fail an examination.The same is true with life: We haveour own highs and lows, ups and

downs, happiness and sadness. Whenthe world is seems against you, con-sider it as a challenge.

“However mean your life is, meetit and live it: do not shun it and call ithard names,” Henry David Thoreaureminded. “Cultivate poverty like agarden herb, like sage. Do not troubleyourself much to get new things,whether clothes or friends. Things donot change, we change. Sell yourclothes and keep your thoughts.”

If you will die today, will peopleremember you? And if they do, whatkind of life would they remember?One morning in 1888, Alfred Nobel,the inventor of dynamite, who hadamassed a fortune manufacturingand selling weapons of destruction,awoke to read his own obituary inthe newspaper. (Actually, it was hisbrother who had died, but a reportermistakenly wrote Alfred’s obituary.)

For the first time, Alfred saw him-self as the world saw him: “the dy-namite king” and nothing more.Nothing was mentioned about hisefforts at breaking down barriers

between people and ideas. He wassimply a merchant of death, and hewould be remembered for that alone.

Alfred was horrified. He deter-mined that the world would knowthe true purpose of his life. So, hewrote his last will and testament andleft his fortune to establish the mostcoveted of all prizes: the Nobel Prize.Now, the world has forgotten his dy-namite legacy.

“Live a good life,” Marcus Aure-lius declared. “If there are gods andthey are just, then they will not carehow devout you have been, but willwelcome you based on the virtuesyou have lived by. If there are gods,but unjust, then you should not wantto worship them. If there are no gods,then you will be gone, but will havelived a noble life that will live on inthe memories of your loved ones.”

But in the meantime, don’t stoplearning. We are all students of life.“Study as if you were going to liveforever; live as if you were going todie tomorrow,” Maria Mitchell urged.

— henrytacio@gmail.com

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Promdi mula sa pahina 2

sa 17 aircraft accident na naitalamula Hunyo 2006 hanggang Mayo30, 2009.

Hmmmnn, mukhang mahiraplagyan ng tali ang mga trainingplane, baka magparang saranggolaang mga iyon.

* * *Ayon kina Vice Governor Willy

Alvarado at Bokal Christian Nati-vidad, hindi na biro ang bilang ngnaitalang aksidente sa lalawigan saloob ng nasabing panahon.

Totoo. Halos isang eroplano angnaaaksidente tuwing ikalawangbuwan, sa loob ng nakaraang 36 nabuwan.

* * *Batay sa tala, lima na ang na-

matay dahil sa mga nasabing ak-sidente. Kabilang dito ang dalawangpiloto, at tatlong student pilot napawang mga Indian national.

Mabuti na lang, wala pang na-dadamay na biktima sa mga binag-sakang lugar.

* * *Ang totoo, iyon ang ipinanga-

ngamba nina Alvarado at Natividad.Hindi nga naman daw imposible namay madamay na residente sa mgasusunod na aksidente dahil ang mgatraining plane ay karaniwan lamangumiikot sa himpapawid ng Bulacan.

Take cover. Baka mabagsakankayo!

* * *Pinuntusan din nina Alvarado at

Natividad sa isang pulong sa Sa-ngguniang Panglalawigan kungbakit kapag may bumagsak na ero-plano ay agad na tinatakpan ng putikng mga may ari ng flight school angbody number ng mga nasabingeroplano.

Sabi ng mga opisyal ng AircraftAccident Investigation Board (AAIB)at ng Delta Air International Avia-tion Academy, bilang proteksyon dawiyon sa negosyo.

* * *

Pero ang negosyo nila ay maylimitasyon lalo na kung hindi silabibigyan ng business permit ng mgamunisipyo, ayon kay Natividad.

Sinabi niya na dapat ikunsideradin ng mga alkalde ng bayan angkaligtasan ng kanilang mga ka-babayan sa pamamagitan ng pag-tiyak na ang mga eroplanong gi-nagamit ng flight school sa Bulacanay kaya pang lumipad.

* * *Ayon naman sa opisyal ng AAIB,

hindi maaaring gamitin laban sa mgaflight school ang incident report samga pagbagsak ng eroplano.

Bakit, anak ba sila ng Diyos? Silaba ang mga tinutukoy ni Vice Gov-

ernor Alvarado sa isa niyang privi-leged speech na mga above the law?Dapat na tutukan iyan, Mr. Vice Gov-ernor, hindi ba?

Ano na kaya ang nangyari sakasong isinampa ng Indian Govern-ment na humihingi ng kabayarang$1 milyon dahil sa pagkamatay ngdalawang student pilot na IndianNational noong Hulyo 8, 2007?

Matatandaan na dalawang ero-plano ang bumagsak noon sa Baran-gay Ligas sa Lungsod ng Malolos.Iyon ay hindi kalayuan sa bahay niBokal Natividad, kaya dapat dintalagang bantayan ni Bokal Nati-vidad ang mga flight school sa Bula-can, di po ba Bokal Christian?

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Fair & Square from page 3

back to life again. Also a regular guest in my TV pro-gram, Ernie and I discussed the fact that both theMekong River and the Ohio River were brought back tolife, giving us the hope that the Pasig River, or at leasttheir portion of it could also be resurrected.

What could possibly be the connection between Edsel,Ronnie, Gary and Ernie? As head of the DFA-IER andAPEC-SOM, Edsel has direct access to many materialand human resources that could be harnessed towardsthe goal of river clean-ups. As joint Economic Spokes-men, Ronnie and Gary are in a position to support eco-nomic initiatives, including environmental actions. Ashead of NEPA, Ernie has a large mass base that couldalso be mobilized towards this goal.

It was Mr. Joseph Reynolds who first told me aboutthe fact that the Pateros River is in effect no longer ariver, because it has practically become a dumpsite forgarbage, with hardly any water to see. He suggested thatany attempt to clean up the river should also be accom-panied by massive tree planting, to prevent further ero-sion and to strengthen the water holding capabilities ofthe river banks.

As I told him about our plan to clean up the PaterosRiver, Joe brought forward the argument that the bestplace to start the clean up is the Sierra Madre mountainrange, because not unless these mountains are cleaned,debris from it will always flow into the river system thatincludes the rest of the Pasig River, Laguna Lake andManila Bay as well.

Joe is a man of action, and he has the real track recordof actually being able to revive fifty hectares of denudedmountains, bringing it back almost to the natural forestthat God had made. I believe that he is right, but nowhe has awakened us to the reality that it is not enoughto clean our rivers, we must also clean the mountainswhere the debris comes from. We are facing a big taskahead of us, but with the help of Edsel, we could bringin the foreign scientists who could provide the scientificsolutions to this big problem.

Watch my TV show “Bears & Bulls”, a daily coverageof the Philippine Stock Exchange. 9:00 am to 1:00 pm inGlobal News Network. Email iseneres@yahoo.com ortext +639293605140 for local cable listings.○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Kastigo mula sa pahina 2

manood ng sine, telenobela o makinig ng drama sa radyolalo na ang kababaihan, ang mayoria ng mamamayan aypatay na patay sa artista — at ito ang sinasamantala ngmga artista.

Kaya hindi nakapagtatakang nahalal sa Senado sinaLito Lapid, Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada; at hindi naka-gugulat kung si Joseph Estrada ay muling mahalal (kungwalang legal na hadlang) na Pangulo sa kabila ngnapatunayan nang kawalang-kakayahan niyang mama-hala at mahatulan na sa kasalanang pandarambong.

Tinig ng bayan ay tinig ng DiyosTotoo pa kaya ang kasabihang, “Vox populi, vox dei”

— ang tinig ng bayan ay tinig ng Diyos?Dahil hindi na ang talagang gusto ng taumbayan ang

nahahalal ngayon kundi kung sino ang magalingmandaya, magaling sumuhol, walang delicadeza — tuladng nakakaraming buwaya sa camara de respresentantesna siguro’y magsisitigil na sa pagsisipsip kay GMA kungtamaan ng influenza A H1N1 virus ang mga buwayangito.

Pangalagaan ang kalikasan

8 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

NI DINO BALABO

MALOLOS —Kayang iwasanang sakit na Influenza A H1N1sa pamamagitan ng kalinisan,ayon sa 10 Bulakenyong na-kapanayam ng Mabuhay, no-ong Hunyo 25. Ang pahayagnilang 10 ay sa kabila na tuma-as sa 32 ang nagpositibo salalawigan mula sa unang 10kaso ng “swine flu” na naitalasa ikalawang linggo ng Hunyo.

Narito ang mga kaganapansa Bulacan hinggil sa naka-kahawang sakit mula noongHunyo 22.

•Nanawagan ang mgahealth official na huwag ma-takot at huwag iwasan ang mgatao na nagpositibo sa A H1N1dahil nagsigaling na ang mga itoat hindi na makakahawa.

•Nagbalik na sa klase angwalong estudyanteng nagposi-tibo sa A H1N1 matapos ang 10araw na suspensiyon ng klasesa Donya Candelaria MenesesDuque High School sa bayan ngBulakan noong Hunyo 22.

Kayang-kayang iwasan angsakit na swine flu sa kabila napatuloy ang pagkalat nito salalawigan, ani ng 10 sa 10kinausap ng Mabuhay.

Apat sa kanila ay guro, isangnegosyante, dalawang emple-yada, isang duktor, at dalawangmay-bahay.

Nagkaisa sila sa pahayag naang kalinisan ang simplengsolusyon laban sa A H1N1 ba-tay, anila, sa mga impormas-yong kanilang natutunan mulasa telebisyon, diyaryo, internetat mga libro.

“Kailangan ay laging ma-linis. Everyday topic ko iyon saklase para ma-inform ang mgabata at maging aware sila toprevent ang paglala kung mag-kasakit sila,” ani Fe Faundo,isang guro sa Iba ElementarySchool sa bayan ng Hagonoy.

Inayunan ito nina MelodyAguilar ng Land Transporta-tion Office (LTO), Jun Joson,isang guro sa De La Salle Uni-versity (DLSU) na nakatira sabayan ng Guiguinto, at Beverly

Cruz ng SM City Baliuag.Ayon kay Joson, “kailangan

palaging malinis sa katawan.Nagagamot naman ang A H1N1batay sa mga nabasa ko sainternet noon pa lang time nakumalat (ang sakit) sa Mexico.”

Idinagdag ni Cruz na bukodsa kalinisan, dapat ding pala-kasin ang katawan sa pama-magitan ng mga ehersisyo atpag-inom ng vitamin C.

Dahil sa mga impormasyongnabasa sa diyaryo at napanoodsa telebisyon, ipinahayag na-man ni Lorena Estidola ngMarcelo H. Del Pilar NationalHigh School (MHDPNHS) ditosa Malolos at nina Tony Tengcong Bulacan Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (BCCI) atArmando Bernardo ng bayan ngAngat ang kanilang nalalamankung paano nalilipat mula saisang tao ang nasabing sakit.

“Ang A H1N1 ay isang uri ngvirus, di siya delikado gaya ngnababalita sa TV,” ani Estidola.

Para kay Tengco, angA H1N1 ay nakakahawa la-mang sa pamamagitan ng “per-sonal contact” at nagbubungang “mataas na lagnat, matin-ding ubo at sipon, pero hindinakamamatay.”

Inihalintulad naman ni Ber-nardo sa trangkaso o “ordinaryflu” ang A H1N1, ngunit iginiitniya na “mas high risk ito samga patient na may ibang sakitdahil pwedeng maging sanhi ngkumplikasyon. Puwedeng iwa-san through simple hand wash-ing or hand sanitizers.”

Inayunan ito ni Dr. JoycelynGomez, provincial PublicHealth Officer at nina Jacque-line Panganiban at Celia Payo-ngayong ng Hagonoy.

Ayon kay Dr. Gomez, tamaang ginagawa ng mga Bula-kenyo na laging nagbabantay samga kaganapan sa pamama-gitan ng mga balita sa tele-bisyon, radyo, diyaryo at ma-ging sa internet.

“Kailangan ay lagi tayongupdated sa balita para lagingmaalala natin kung paano mag-iingat,” ani Gomez.

A H1N1 kayang iwasan,ani ng mga Bulakenyo

Provincial health officer: Hindi dapatpangilagan ang nagpositibo sa swine fluBULAKAN, Bulacan —Hindi dapat pangilaganang mga nagkasakit ng In-fluenza A H1N1 o “swineflu.”

Ito ang buod ng pahayagng mga opisyal ng kalu-sugan bilang reaksyon samga balitang iniiwasan ngmga kapitbahay ang mgataong nagpositibo saA H1N1 sa bayang ito.

Ayon kay Dr. JoycelynGomez ng ProvincialHealth Office, “There isnothing to fear and theydon’t have to avoid their

neighbors.”Sinabi niya na ang mga

kapamilya at kapitbahay oang mga taong may closecontact sa mga nagpositibosa A H1N1 ay kailanganlamang na magsagawa ngprecautionary measureskatulad ng tamang paghu-hugas ng kamay.

“Everyone must bear inmind that they are observ-ing precautionary mea-sures not only to avoidA H1N1 but also other com-mon diseases as well,” aniDr. Gomez.

Kinumpirma ito ni Dr.Rio Magpantay, direktor ngDepartment of Health(DOH) sa Gitnang Luzon.

Ayon kay Dr. Magpan-tay walang dapat ikatakotang mga tao partikular sabayang ito dahil lahat ngnagposotibo sa “swine flu”ay nagsigaling na at hindina makakahawa.

Batay sa tala ng provin-cial health office, umabot nasa 27 ang positibo saA H1N1 sa lalawigan ngBulacan kabilang ang 17bagong kaso noong Hunyo24. Ito ay nadagdagan pang lima noong Hunyo 25.

Ayon kay Dr. Gomez,ang 17 bagong nagpositiboay matatagpuan dito sabayan ng Bulakan. Kabi-lang sa kanila ang mgamag-aaral sa elementarya,ani Gomez.

Gayunpaman, aniya, sakabila ng pagiging positibosa A H1N1 ng mga mag-aaral ay hindi na nagsus-pinde ng klase.

Sinabi rin ni Gomez naang mga nagpositibo ayisinailalalim na lamang sa“home confinement.”

“Estudyante rin ngDonya Candelaria ’yungtatlo,” ani Gomez patung-kol sa Donya CandelariaMeneses Duque HighSchool (DCMDHS) na ma-tatagpuan sa BarangayBambang. — Dino Balabo