Olario speaks
(June 10, 2002)

AT presstime, Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) "Master" Ruben Ecleo Jr. is still scot free.

If by chance the cult leader surrenders or is arrested before this comes out of the press, please disregard. But if not, read on.

Through a mutual friend in Cagayan de Oro, Caraga police director for Caraga Alberto Olario sent me a letter on Saturday. The police general reacted to what I've written a column ago about how inutile the Caraga police has become in executing a court order to arrest suspected wife murderer Ruben Ecleo Jr.

Here's Olario's letter:

"This pertains to the column you wrote in the Mindanao Gold Star Daily dated June 7, 2002, alleging, in its context, that the undersigned is delaying craved justice against Ruben Ecleo Jr., and alleging further that all my pronouncements, to quote, 'are only meant to score pogi points'.

"The Police Regional Office 13, in the discharge of the duties and responsibilities it has sworn to uphold, includes methods and strategies to uphold the law without the necessity of resorting to forceful means. This, we are currently doing in the case of Ruben Ecleo Jr. in which we anticipate a bloody confrontation if effected without negotiation or diplomacy. We do not want a Kitaotao, Bukidnon-like confrontation between the PNP and cultists to happen here!

"At this point, Mr. Gomez, we are still at the negotiation phase of serving the arrest warrant against Congresswoman Glenda Ecleo's son, Ruben. There is however a period for negotiation and a time to employ the police action phase in the event of failure to attain the desired objectives of a peaceful turnover of the suspect. In such case we will then be constrained to uphold the law, thus effecting the arrest at all cost!

"I hope that this will enlighten you about our action plan regarding this case. Rest assured that the Police Regional Office 13 (Caraga) is still at the side of serving right justice and is not, to quote you, 'cowed by the position of Ecleo's mother.'

"By the way, my tennis games are only during athletic days as part of the PNP's physical fitness program and does not in any way distract my job as regional director. You can check from your colleagues in the media here what we are doing in Caraga!

"My best regards."

Atty. Alberto Rama Olario, MMPM
Police Chief Superintendent (GSC)
Regional Director, PRO 13 (Caraga)
***
My regards to you, too, General.

I'm glad, General Olario, that your tennis isn't interfering with your police work and I wouldn't mind if you'd repeatedly hit Ruben Ecleo Jr.'s nose with your racket.

But frankly, and I hope you'd excuse me for saying this, I still think that calling the Caraga police "inefficient" and "inutile" would be an understatement.

So, the Caraga police wants to avoid a repeat of Kitaotao. Good point.

In that Bukidnon town, members of the Sagrado Corazon de Jesus cult, otherwise known as Tadtad, were killed while a composite team of soldiers, policemen and militiamen was serving an arrest warrant against one of the cultists last year.

There was armed resistance, forcing members of the composite team to use their guns.

Methinks Olario knows that the use of force wasn't really the issue in Kitaotao. No one really questioned the policemen, the soldiers and the Cafgus for shooting the cultists.

But the use of force in Kitaotao wasn't the issue. What really raised eyebrows was the ABS-CBN footage that showed government forces spraying the already disabled and dead cultists with automatic gunfire. The rules of engagement were broken. 'Twas an overkill. That was the real issue in Kitaotao, General.

The Kitaotao lesson is simple: Don't finish off the dead.

Caraga's cops should bear that in mind if and when they serve the arrest warrant against Ecleo.

If "Master" Ruben puts up a fight, it's okay to put a bullet between his eyes, General. Just make sure you don't shoot him again after that.

If my calculations are right, the Cebu court issued the arrest warrant against the cult leader as early as April 24.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it's been 45 days, General, and until now you are still, as you said, "at the negotiation phase".

"Hey, no rush. Take your time. You take care. Be a good cop." Is that what the Caraga police wants to hear from the public?

It's not that people are in a hurry to see Ecleo behind bars. It's just that the Caraga police is too slow--very, very slow, in fact, that one cannot help but suspect that something's cooking.

How many months more do you need to talk "Mommy Glen" into surrendering her wanted son, General?

Negotiation phase?

Negotiations my foot.

Pastilan.



Don't sit on the arrest-Ecleo-order, General Olario
(June 7, 2002)

GENERAL Alberto Olario, regional director of the National Police in Caraga, should put up or shut up.

It's becoming apparent that all his pronouncements with regard to the question on whether or not the Caraga police would serve the arrest warrant issued by a Cebu court against suspected wife murderer Ruben Ecleo Jr. are only meant to score pogi points.

Truth is, Chief Supt. Olario--the Caraga police for that matter--isn't lifting a finger to arrest the "master" of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA).

One of my journalist-friends in Surigao city says Olario, since the time the arrest warrant was issued, has been making the pronouncements like a broken record. The arrest-Ecleo-order has long been gathering dust right under Olario's nose; until now, the cult leader is free as a bird.

Just this week, a daily (not this paper) quoted Olario as saying that he ordered the entire police force of San Jose in Surigao del Norte relieved because of the failure of the town's police officers to help the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in arresting Ecleo who is believed to be hiding in a PBMA mansion there.

Frankly, methinks Ecleo is hiding under the skirt of her congresswoman-mother Glenda Ecleo, the reason why the Caraga police has become inutile.

Why blame the San Jose police which is only manned by a handful of officers (about 10 cops only, if I'm not mistaken)? If Olario sacks the San Jose police chief and all his subordinates, he should also replace Supt. Ricky Nerves, the present police director of Surigao del Norte. Better still, National Police Director General Leandro Mendoza should kick Olario out of Caraga--that is, if the country's top cop isn't afraid of Rep. Ecleo.

Under the principle of command responsibility, Olario should be held liable for the failure of his men--from the Surigao del Norte police office down to the San Jose precinct--to arrest Ruben Ecleo Jr.

Will somebody please tell Olario he could be charged with dereliction of duty for sitting on the Ecleo case?

General, undanga sa 'nang imong pagdulaay sa tennis aron magtingkagol na kana si Ecleo!
***
So what if Ruben Ecleo Jr. is a son of a congresswoman?

That Ecleo belongs to a powerful, wealthy and influential family should give the Caraga police more reason to arrest the parricide suspect. The exact opposite of the adage "Those who have less in life should have more in law" seems to be true in the case of Olario.

The presence of armed PBMA members who are willing to die for their "master" on Dinagat island shouldn't be a problem unless Olario says that Caraga's cops are not trained to deal with armed resistance. By all means, shoot the @#$%^&! cultists if they try to violently obstruct justice! But it seems Olario and company are being cowed by the position of Ecleo's mother.

What "waiting-for-the-right-timing" is Olario talking about? Good grief, the general already had all the time in his hands to get Ecleo, dead or alive!

Olario should prove that he deserves his star--even if it means that he should go to San Jose himself just to serve the arrest warrant. If he can't, then he doesn't deserve to man even a police precinct in Tungao. Pastilan ka, Gen. Olario.



Tell me why I shouldn't call Ecleo a thief
(June 3, 2002)

GLENDA Ecleo, a representative of Surigao del Norte, owes Surigaonons a lot of explanation with regard to the highly questionable release of half a million pesos to a cooperative in the province.

Journalist Howie Severino of GMA 7's News and Public Affairs, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) just showed me and other members of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) copies of documents that suggest that Rep. Ecleo used the cooperative to pocket the money.

At first, Severino said the PCIJ did not see anything shady about the release of a portion of Ecleo's pork-barrel funds to the Dinagat, Surigao del Norte-based cooperative a few years back.

In fact, helping the cooperative seemed like a laudable thing to do, said Severino. I agree.

But not until Ecleo's statement of assets and liabilities (SAL) was examined did the PCIJ started thinking otherwise.

Here's the catch: the cooperative which was supposedly benefited by Ecleo's P500-thousand assistance was listed as one of the assets of the Surigao del Norte congresswoman in her SAL--meaning, she owns it!

Now give me a reason, Congresswoman Ecleo, why I shouldn't call you a thief.
***
Where is Guido Alfredo Delgado?

Delgado, erstwhile president of the National Power Corporation (Napocor), should explain why he allowed the Alcantaras of Davao to bag about half of the independent power producer (IPP) contracts for Mindanao.

He owes us, the power consumers of Mindanao, a great deal of explanation given the fact that he was Napocor president at the time the government forged the highly suspicious deals with the IPPs.

The Mindanao IPPs are reportedly raking in P443 million a month or P5.3 billion annually as a result of these fishy deals--whether or not Napocor uses the power they generate. Since Napocor has had an abundant supply of power after 1993, the year the power crisis peaked, you can just imagine the kind of windfall all the IPPs, including the Alcantaras, have been enjoying all these years.

Did the Alcantaras corner these juicy deals (four IPP contracts, according to the information we collected) because they are related to then Ramos presidential assistant Paul Dominguez?

The Cagayan de Oro-based banker's appointment by Ramos to the Napocor had come as a surprise to many. But it was not really that surprising if one considered that Ramos was and is still (?) a major stakeholder of the Northern Mindanao Development Bank (NMDB), a bank Delgado served before his appointment to the Napocor.

How could Delgado, a Mindanaoan, have done such a thing to Mindanao?

Dominguez has a lot of explaining to do, too.

I used to think that technocrats like Delgado and Dominguez should be in government. I just changed my mind.

Pastilan.



An oversupply of road idiots
(May 27, 2002)

THERE are more idiots on Cagayan de Oro's roads and bridges than in City Hall. The reason for this, of course, is because City Hall only has one mayor, one vice mayor, 14 councilors (including the youth and barangay councils' representatives) and 5,000 workers, more or less. In contrast, hordes of cars, trucks, jeepneys, motorelas, trisikads, bicycles, pushcarts and so forth are swarming on the city's roads, including the Maharlika and Carmen bridges, every day. Sadly, many of these vehicles are driven by idiots.

For some reason, it's quite difficult to find a whiz on any Cagayan de Oro road no matter how hard you look for one. With the oversupply of road idiots--stupid idiots and smart idiots--in Cagayan de Oro, one would expect to find at least one genius. But I have yet to hear my wife telling me that she just saw a driver make a perfect U-turn and that she thinks he is a genius or a traffic aide pulling over a perfect jeepney driver just to shake his hand.

I still think there are "normal" drivers in Cagayan de Oro and I wish the City Council would pass a local law that would authorize the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) to erect road signs with the wording: "Left Lane For Normal Drivers; Right Lane For Idiots."

Seriously, I find the swelling number of idiot-drivers in the city quite alarming. But what is really disturbing is that it seems that local officials have gotten used to the present state of vehicular lawlessness and disorder in the city that they no longer see the traffic mess as a major problem that needs to be addressed.
***
Aggravating the Cagayan de Oro road mess is the hiring of idiots as traffic aides. One of them is manning the Recto-Osmena intersection near the Coca-Cola plant on evenings.

On our way to the Press Club between 6 pm and 7 pm sometime last week, Editor Ruel Pelone and I got stuck in a traffic jam near that intersection.

The road idiots were at it again and I wished I wasn't at the driver's seat that time. No one wanted to give way and all the motorists appeared to have ran out of patience. Earsplitting horns were blown from every direction. Again, "freestyle driving", at its worst, caused a standstill on a major intersection in Cagayan de Oro.

The traffic aide?

Well, the moron in green uniform merely stood at a nearby gas station and looked like he was announcing to the whole world that he was still enjoying his break.

Will you please fire that shameless idiot, Mayor Dongkoy Emano?
***
I hope Mayor Emano would find some time to ensure that traffic laws and rules are observed in the city.

Take the case of the city law that says motorelas and trisikads are not supposed to be moving around the city's major roads and bridges. Yet motorela and trisikad drivers violate this right under the noses of law enforcers.

When Ambing Magtajas was still mayor, he was criticized for not being able to clear the streets around the public markets from sidewalk vendors. Today, there's a sidewalk vendor screwing up the vehicular traffic flow in almost every street corner in downtown Cagayan de Oro.

Pastilan, Mayor Dongkoy. Pastilan.



Pagadian cop chief should be investigated
(May 24, 2002)

PAGADIAN'S police chief Asuri Hawani should be investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). If Supt. Hawani is not yet a suspect in the Edgar Damalerio murder case, I suggest that his name be written in the NBI list of suspects.

Why do I say that Hawani should be tagged as a suspect?

For one, Hawani has an apparent motive. He was among the last people journalist Damalerio had lambasted on air before the May 13 murder. And my sources tell me Damalerio went to the extent of soliciting signatures for a petition to have Hawani kicked out of Pagadian because the journalist was convinced that the police official was inutile.

I don't remember meeting Supt. Hawani but based on the way the Pagadian police has been handling the murder case, I am inclined on believing that he does not deserve the position of city police director.

It's either Hawani was in a rush to name a suspect just to comply with the accomplishment-report requirement or was really inutile. Barely a day after Damalerio's murder, Supt. Hawani identified a supposed fugitive, Ronnie Kilme, as one of two motorcycle-riding men who shot and killed Damalerio on FS Pajares Avenue in downtown Pagadian. His men even raided Kilme's supposed hideout somewhere in Pagadian but failed to arrest any of Damalerio's suspected killers. Instead, the police arrested four brothers, all surnamed Bandico, and claimed to have seized from the men firearms. But since the Pagadian police could not link the Bandico brothers to the Damalerio murder, the police charged them with illegal possession of firearms.

It's easy to point an accusing finger to anyone especially if the person being accused of murdering a journalist is a fugitive. I hope authorities would catch Kilme so he can pay for the crimes the police claimed he committed. But Kilme is a fall guy and the NBI found this out when Edgar Amoro, one of Damalerio's companions at the time of the murderous attack, gave a clear description of the suspects.

Now I am wondering why it took the NBI to get Amoro as a witness. Supt. Hawani and company should have tapped Amoro since the start of the police investigation but instead, they talked a laborer and a guard who did not even witness the attack into executing their affidavits. From where I am sitting, it looks like the police case has been designed to be weak and programmed to fail. Smells like a police cover-up.

And with Friday's arrest of Police Officer 1 Guillermo Wapille of the Pagadian police through NBI's efforts, the more Supt. Hawani should be listed as a suspect. (The local police does not want to call it an "arrest" because, according to them, Wapille "surrendered" and was subsequently placed under "camp restriction.")

Whether or not Hawani had a hand in the killing of Damalerio is only up for the courts to determine. But I still think Hawani should be listed as a suspect and investigated by the NBI.



Pamatong gets what he deserves
(May 13, 2002)

THIS is a call for northern Mindanao police director Chief Supt. Rodolfo Caisip to order an investigation into the allegations of abuses committed by a certain Perfecto "Jun" Vargas of the local Narcotics Command (Narcom). I don't know who this Vargas is and neither do I know what his rank is. What I'm certain though is that this fellow does not deserve to be enlisted even in the Cafgu (Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit).

Lawyer and the weekly Ang Bag-ong Katarungan publisher Augusto "Titots" Neri Jr. has had a very ugly experience with this Vargas last week when a Narcom team arrested a drug suspect in downtown Cagayan de Oro.

Titots, who lives in that neighborhood, was hanging around with some friends near the Somo Funeral Parlor at that time. Learning about the police raid, a curious Titots asked Vargas about the identity of the person he and his fellow officers have arrested. After getting a reply, Titots and his companion grinned because they knew who the suspect was.

The cop apparently misinterpreted and resented the reaction. Moments later, Vargas and company went back to confront Titots. As if berating the lawyer-publisher wasn't enough, Vargas and the other policemen brandished their guns as they demanded to see Titot's identification card.

Vargas and company became uneasy when Titots showed his Integrated Bar of the Philippines I.D. The thought that they have just harassed a lawyer obviously made them nervous. So off they went to a nearby police precinct and pressed trump-up charges against the lawyer, thinking this was the only way for them to get off the hook, and that this would be their best defense in the event Titots pressed harassment charges against them.

Now, Vargas claims Titots attempted to obstruct justice. He also came up with this preposterous accusation that Titots slapped him.

I have two questions and I want this @#$%^&! Vargas to answer them.

Question No. 1: If Titots tried to obstruct justice (which is a crime), why didn't you arrest him?

Question No. 2: What kind of man, in his right senses, would slap a police officer in the presence of at least two other equally armed officers?

If Vargas and company can afford to do this to a respected lawyer, a mediaman and a past president of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) at that, they can do the same thing to any Filipino Tom, Dick and Harry.

Chief Supt. Caisip and whoever the local Narcom chief is should look into this and work to have Vargas fired before Titots brings this matter to Camp Crame.

Abusive policemen like these arrogant morons are the ones giving the Philippine National Police (PNP) a bad name.
***
Self-professed Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade cult leader Elly Pamatong is suffering from a credibility hemorrhage what with the public rebuke he got from Manila-based media practitioner Erick San Juan over DxIF-Bombo Radyo last week.

Now I am doubting if Pamatong is really what he claims to be--that he is an international lawyer (daw/kuno) with strong connections with the US government, and that even the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) recognize him.

After the on-air scolding he got from San Juan, the more I am entertaining the suspicion that Pamatong is a fake and that he is no different from that loudmouth at radio station DxCC who gives his listeners nothing but garbage, empty talk and heterodox views about Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade and its sickening Banal na Langis racket.

Pamatong has long been trying to make people believe that he is a big shot or something and that whenever he speaks, the entire world listens. In fact, he admits that he dreams of becoming the first Mindanaoan to become president of this country.

In a news conference I attended in Cagayan de Oro months before the ouster of Joseph Estrada, I felt like throwing up after Pamatong claimed his group would establish an office inside a United Nations building supposedly to pursue the cause of the Bangsamoro people. The issue at that time was the Estrada administration's "all-out war" against Mindanao's separatist rebels. A Pamatong office at the UN? Sounds too good to be true.

Then he forged some sort of an alliance with Edmundo Pamintuan alias Kumander Lahi whose "Langis" cult has been espousing this ridiculous idea of demanding American citizenship for the 70 million Filipinos, presumably including Abu Sabaya. After Pamintuan's "mysterious" death last March, Pamatong, like the embattled Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, went live over Bombo Radyo to claim leadership over Kumander Lahi's Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade.

As if the cult is not a non-entity or is a force to reckon with, Pamatong said he commands "99.9 percent" of the group, including its over 100 "battalions" throughout the country. Gracious me, that's as big, if not bigger, than the Armed Forces of the Philippines!

Not only that, Pamatong also claimed that President Arroyo and the Office of the US President--meaning, George W. Bush Jr.--are fully behind him. As a supposed proof to this, he said US forces were ordered to secure the cult's Banal na Langis factory in Pampanga. But why would the Americans do that? Who the hell does Pamatong think he is?

Bombo's Jun Albino was fuming after Pamatong scolded him for interviewing Pamintuan's right hand Ver Perez, and San Juan, a former confidant of the late cult leader. Perez and San Juan were a bit critical toward Pamatong and from the looks of it, the lawyer resented that Albino gave the two the opportunity to answer the accusations earlier hurled against them by the self-professed cult leader.

So Pamatong had himself interviewed live by Bombo for the nth time, not knowing that San Juan would later confront him on air.

Pamatong found himself on the defensive as San Juan gave him a mouthful and unmasked this supposedly brilliant lawyer. If there were scorecards at that time, San Juan would get a Perfect 10 and Pamatong, who was given a good beating, would get a "Perfect Zero".

Obviously grasping for words, Pamatong could only say "I would not comment on that" when he was bluntly asked by San Juan if it was true that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recalled his identification card because of his and his group's questionable activities. Later, Pamatong sounded hysterical as he described San Juan's statements as "libelous" and "lies". Yet the answers he gave were not exactly what one would hear from a brilliant lawyer.

"This is what I get for trying to help Filipinos," said Pamatong who, at the time of the radio interview, sounded as if he was on the verge of crying like a baby.

No, Attorney Pamatong. That was what you got for being a braggart.

Pastilan.



How's 'Kumander Gahi's Langis
ng Langit' for a racket?
(May 10, 2002)

LEADERS of the late Kumander Lahi's Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade cult should thank Cagayan de Oro Councilor Edgar Cabanlas for coming to their defense during Monday's City Council session. In fact, all the swindlers and would-be swindlers in Cagayan de Oro and elsewhere in the country--and in the entire world, for that matter--should be thankful to Cabanlas for coming up with this brilliant idea on how to rip people off and get away with it.

Might I suggest that the councilor write a book on the matter. And Cabanlas should call his book The Art of Gypping: An Idiot's Guide to Effective Swindling and Law-Twisting.

Because of the Cabanlas defense, I am starting to entertain the idea of forming my own religious cult to solve all my money problems forever. I am also thinking of recruiting broadcasters Joel Baldelovar, Jun Albino, brothers Michael and Jonas Bustamante, Mark Martirez, Joel Jacobo, Susan Palmes and Joas Dignos, among others. And if plans don't miscarry, I will claim to be God and my followers will call me Kumander Gahi.

I will buy a barrel of crude oil for a start, package and spread it thinly using small bottles, and then bless the product at the Divisoria Bandstand for every one to see. I will use my disciples-broadcasters to promote and publicly endorse my miracle oil which I will call Kumander Gahi's Langis ng Langit, with this promise to any male consumer who drinks it: Langis ng mga Matigas, Nagpapatigas! (Sa Mutu-o Lang).

How's P500 for a selling price?

By then I will have plenty of money and return the favor to my disciples in the news media by buying commercial air time from their radio stations to promote Kumander Gahi's Langis ng Langit.

As my Langis ng Langit business grows, I will hire Manila-based broadcast journalist Rey Langit to endorse my product nationwide. Erick San Juan of News Asia, who just gave self-proclaimed Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade leader Elly Pamatong a mouthful over DxIF-Bombo Radyo, can be my spokesman--and Councilor Cabanlas can be my lawyer (if he wants to).

And if, by chance, a consumers' group or the government questions my Langis, I will invoke the constitutional provision on the separation of Church and State. Following Councilor Cabanlas' argument, I will tell the government that it has no jurisdiction over Kumander Gahi's Langis ng Langit because its power is based on faith. Sounds good to me, but on second thought, I don't think I can do that. You see, swindling isn't my cup of tea and I don't know how I can sleep at night, thinking that I have become rich by making a fool out of unsuspecting consumers.

During the Council's session on Monday afternoon, while John Elizaga was trying to exact his sweet revenge on local Banal na Langis ng Buhay media endorser Zaldy Ocon (it was Ocon who broke the story on the alleged sexual harassment of women by the vice mayor), Cabanlas butted in, obviously to provide a cushion for the embattled cult that has been producing and selling the so-called "miracle oil".

As if he does not understand simple Pilipino/Tagalog, Cabanlas asked: "What does Banal na Langis mean?"

"Holy oil!" another councilor or somebody from the crowd was overheard as saying.

"Ahh," replied Cabanlas. "So the name has a religious connotation."

His point: The "miraculous healing power" of the Langis "is based on faith" and therefore, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) has no legal right to check the product out.

Cabanlas cited the case of the "holy waters" of India's Ganges where thousands of Hindus take a bath or dip every day on the belief that the country's "holiest river" will undo the sins they have committed. (Much to my disappointment, the same river is where the ashes of the late ex-Beatle George Harrison were scattered.)

Never mind if Varanasi city, the heartland of the Hindu religion, pumps some 80 million gallons of sewage waste into Ganges every day. And never mind if Ganges, which is now India's most polluted river, has been responsible for the skin and stomach ailments of close to 50 percent of the people who regularly take the "holy dip". Ganges is the name of India's mother goddess and people who immerse themselves in the river are willing to cold-shoulder the fact that it is one of the biggest toilet bowls the world has ever known. Never mind if people wash their clothes along the riverbank or toss the ashes of their dead or if many Hindus dump corpses into Ganges despite a government ban on such practices. For the believers, Ganges is a "holy river" and its "pureness" outweighs the pollution issue.

I can't argue with faith. No one can. Faith, according to a New Testament passage, is the "substance of things hoped for" and the "evidence of things not seen".

But Cabanlas should know that the "holy waters" of Ganges are not being commercialized. Ganges is for free unlike the Banal na Langis that is being sold to the public between P200 to P300 per bottle. Unlike Banal na Langis, you don't hear India's radio stations carrying commercial advertisements about Ganges River's supposed supernatural powers. And neither are Indian journalists telling their media audience to drink from the Ganges River.

The mere fact that the cult is spending thousands, if not millions of pesos, to commercially promote Banal na Langis means that the so-called "miracle oil" has been turned into a public commodity. And since it is already a public commodity, albeit a bit obscure compared to Coke or Pepsi, it becomes the responsibility of the government to check on whether or not Banal na Langis is a legitimate product.

Point is, the commercialization of Banal na Langis legitimizes the controversy surrounding the cult product; the real issue is on whether or not the government is doing something to protect consumers from swindlers.

There lies the difference between the Ganges River and Banal na Langis, Councilor Cabanlas.

Pastilan.



This one's for Dixon Yasay and company
(May 6, 2002)

I SENT a letter, dated April 29, to Mayor Dixon Yasay and the Sangguniang Bayan, through Vice Mayor Jean Serina, of Opol, Misamis Oriental. I hope the officials would act on this complaint. Here it is:

Gentlemen and ladies:

I write to you not as a journalist whose duty is to serve as a public watchdog but as an ordinary citizen angered by the way my government has been treating me. Like the hundreds, if not the thousands of residents of Youngsville and its neighboring sitios in Barangay Igpit, I am becoming very impatient over the seeming inaction of the people who were elected into public office in this municipality.

To my disappointment (my apologies for saying this), none of you have done anything significant to improve the approximately three-kilometer "road" that links Youngsville to the highway that leads to Cagayan de Oro city. For lack of a better word, I will call it a "road" although, frankly, I doubt if it qualifies as one.

Make no mistake about it--this road problem is very serious. Every day, residents are inconvenienced by it. A number of vehicular accidents have been attributed to it. In fact, I am partly blaming this poorly maintained road for the death of a woman dear to me nearly two years ago; had the government provided us with a good road, she could have been rushed to the Cagayan de Oro Medical Center's emergency room and arrived there on time. Shouldn't the municipal government of Opol feel accountable?

Once or twice, I succumbed to the temptation of writing about this problem in my regular column for a local daily newspaper, hoping my town government would do something about it. It would seem, from where I am sitting right now, that my efforts were of no use. I am also tempted to do an investigative story about this road problem and all the anomalies that go with it, but I am a bit reluctant. You see, I am still trying to figure out if it is ethical for a journalist to jump into an issue that directly concerns him. On the one hand, I guess it is all right since public interest far outweighs my personal intentions with regard to this problem. On the other hand, I am also entertaining another option--that is, for me, as a concerned citizen, to bring to the attention of the local and national news media the government's inaction on the Youngsville road problem.

To be completely honest about it, I am already sick and tired of Opol politicians who do a Pontious Pilate whenever they are asked about this road problem. The fact that the road is classified as "provincial" does not mean you should not feel responsible for it. Otherwise, what is the use of having a local government? Point is, if Opol's officials do not want to be accountable and provide passable roads to its constituents, I do not see any reason why residents should participate in the municipal elections. Passable roads--"provincial", "municipal" or "national"--are among the most basic of services the government must provide its people. To quote my good friend, Governor Antonio Calingin: "It is an obligation (on the part of government officials)."

The governor and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan have the entire Misamis Oriental to worry about and I do not know how they can handle the problems of all the 24 towns, not to mention the component city of Gingoog. But you, gentlemen and ladies, have only Opol to think of.

Consider this an appeal for you to do what you are supposed to be doing since Day One of your election/reelection. Youngsville's residents deserve a better treatment.

Please, gentlemen and ladies.



'Oil' salesman Zaldy Ocon's gods must be crazy
(May 3, 2002)

ZALDY Ocon of station DxCC-Radio Mindanao Network (RMN), I was told, has negatively reacted to my last column that exposed the stupidity of the people behind the Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade cult. To get back at me, Ocon, who was referred to as a vice president of the cult following the fatal heart attack of Edmundo Pamintuan alias Kumander Lahi, exploited two issues about the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) which I served as president for two years, and tried his best to link me to the supposed irregularities. Needless to say, Ocon, none of the issues you have exploited happened during my term as press club president. Common sense tells me that I cannot answer for things that don't directly concern me. Better luck next time, Ocon.

If Zaldy Ocon's intention is to bully me into not exposing what the Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade cult really is and its multimillion-peso Banal na Langis racket, I'm afraid his efforts are useless because I'm not the kind of man who will be pushed around.

Ocon's attacks against me and other Cagayan de Oro-based journalists won't change the fact that we think Banal na Langis is a sham, that Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade's defenders are a bunch of looneys, and that the cult's gods must be crazy.

Ocon and his fellow cultists have long been sweet-talking unsuspecting consumers into believing that Banal na Langis is a cure-for-all medicine and that it has supernatural powers. But the Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade "oil" is far from being magical. In fact, I suspect that Banal na Langis can make people dumb, if not crazy.

Just look at and listen to Zaldy Ocon and tell me if my suspicion does not have a basis. I presume that Ocon has been drinking/applying the Banal na Langis for quite a time now. In fact, I suspect the poor fellow has had an overdose of Banal na Langis--the result: his brain was relocated from his head down to a place somewhere near his ass.

Anyone who says that the Philippines is not owned by Filipinos and is therefore owned by the Americans must be a crackpot. And anyone who claims that Banal na Langis can resurrect the dead should be collared and brought to the mental hospital. Worst, anyone who thinks this way and brandishes an unlicensed pistol should be arrested and hanged at the nearest electric post. A mentally deranged man with a gun should be tagged by the police as "armed and dangerous" and must be placed behind bars by cops. If the @#$%^&! fruitcake fights back, blow his brains out, for Kumander Lahi's sake!

I am questioning Ocon's fondness for cocking his pistol before the radio mike. No responsible and licensed gun owner would do this. Since it is obvious to me that he was not taught how to responsibly use a gun, I have this strong gut feeling that Ocon does not have a license? Will the police please look into this?

Also, the funny thing here is that I have not heard Ocon using his gun outside RMN's announcer's booth. Outside the station, he merely flashes his borrowed caliber .45 pistol for everyone to see.

Ang yabang-yabang ng lokolokong ito, wala naman palang sinasabi!

I don't know why the RMN management is playing blind and I don't understand why its owners, the Canoys, allow stupid cultists, who have nothing but garbage to say on air, from sitting inside the radio booth.

Zaldy Ocon is nonsense. He tries hard to speak in English obviously to impress his listeners yet it is obvious he does not know the language. His arguments are also full of holes and are outright rubbish. Just the other day, he said "indiscriminate" when he meant "discriminate".

Sometimes, I pity this fellow because it appears to me that he is unlettered but I am also pestered by his loud, confused and empty talk. You hear nothing but hot air from this cultist who is masquerading as a broadcast journalist. But truth is, he does not even have an accreditation from the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP). This means Zaldy Ocon's claim that he is a broadcast journalist is as fake as his Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade cult and Banal na Langis.

Hoy Zaldy, since your commentaries are all garbage, you should be a garbage collector, not a radio talent!

Pataga-Tagalog ka pa, baluktot naman ang dila mo! Kulto kang dako! Ngitngit ka pa sa alkitran!

Pastilan.



Stupid cultists
(April 29, 2002)

THE people behind the cult called Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade are screwballs.

Since March 22, the day the cult's founder Edmundo Pamintuan alias Kumander Lahi reportedly died of a heart attack, key leaders of the group have been squabbling over the leadership of Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade that mixes what sounds to me as religious fanaticism with politics.

The death of Pamintuan, who was also called "Rajah", was apparently kept a secret by the cult leader's closest associates because any news about the demise would certainly be an embarassment. Here was a man, whose doctrine compelled cultists to eat nothing but vegetables and who claimed to have a cure for illnesses, succumbing to a heart attack. That, surely, wouldn't speak well of the religious cult and of Pamintuan who was taken to be as "the last messenger sent by God to preach the gospel" by his followers. Besides, Pamintuan's associates have a business to protect and that is, the cult medicine Banal na Langis ng Buhay (Holy Oil of Life) that is allegedly selling like hotcakes because of its so-called mira-culous healing powers. I would no longer delve into the issue on the commercialization of Banal na Langis or on whether or not the sale of the cult's product has the go-ahead of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

Out of respect for the dead, I will not call Kumander Lahi a nutcase but I will say, without batting an eyelash, that the people he left behind are so far among the neatest crackpots I have ever encountered.

I also think the government should start contemplating on pressing charges against the people behind Discovery Crusade for "preaching" that the Philippines is owned by the United States. The cultists have long been challenging anyone to prove that this country is owned by Filipinos. They argue that the Americans did not officially turn over the Philippines to Filipinos. Going by this nonsensical argument, the cultists do not recognize the Filipino government at all--how, for heaven's sake, can a group say that this country has its own government if it is arguing that the Philippines belongs to foreigners? The cultists want evidence that the Philippines belongs to Filipinos as if their birth certificates aren't enough proof. Goodness me, the United Nations--the entire world for that matter--recognizes Filipino ownership of the Philippines except these @#$%^&! cultists!
The Kumander Lahi cultists have been propagating this obviously anti-Filipino and stupidest idea for quite a time already it's about time the government did something to kick their dumb butts.
***
I suggest Kumander Lahi's lawyer, Ely Pamatong, should see a doctor. I suspect that an acute febrile highly contagious viral disease (read: flu) which is very common these days must have affected the way he thinks. Strange things happen to people with flu, sometimes.

Over a local radio station, Pamatong claimed he was Kumander Lahi's legitimate successor and that no less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the "Office of the United States President"--meaning, George W. Bush Jr.--were behind him.

Pamatong also claimed that US troops, presumably American soldiers participating in the Balikatan 2001 exercises in Luzon, were deployed purposely to keep an eye on a Back to Christ-Discovery Crusade propery in Pampanga.

That's sick. Need I say more?

Pastilan.



Break the Cepalco monopoly
(April 15, 2002)

I MUST agree with Mayor Dongkoy Emano and his councilors that the government must look into the operations of the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company (Cepalco) and review the deal it struck with its twin, the Mindanao Energy Systems (Minergy).

Two Saturdays ago, a large portion of Cagayan de Oro was left without electricity for hours because, according to Cepalco, it had to do some maintenance work. But do Cagayanons deserve this kind of service and buy Cepalco's "maintenance" crap?

I say it's unfair that the city's power consumers are suffering every time Cepalco checks its electric distribution lines. It's supposedly Cepalco's responsibility to ensure a steady supply of electricity in the city.

Most of the city's hotels, moviehouses and hospitals, among others, have stand-by electricity generators because they can't afford a power interruption. They feel they have a duty to their clientele. Now tell me, what makes Cepalco any different?

This would be very costly on Cepalco's part, I know. But no one told Cepalco's owner/s to go into power distribution. Question is, why engage in a business that you can't handle?

And isn't this the reason why Minergy exists? To be a stand-by power generator, so to speak?

Each month, Cagayan de Oro's power consumers, wittingly or unwittingly, are paying Minergy through Cepalco whether or not the latter uses the electricity generated by the former. The Cepalco-Minergy deal, in itself, is already fishy but what is really revolting is that the two companies are virtually one and the same, and are being ran by the same people.

Minergy has been categorized as an "independent power producer' but truth is, it is not independent from the monopoly that is Cepalco. This utility firm has monopolized power distribution in the city and in some parts of Misamis Oriental, and this is precisely why, as Councilor Edgar Cabanlas aptly puts it, it can afford to dictate on the power consumers in this part of the country.

Break the monopoly, for heaven's sake!

Pastilan.


An Angel on the Net
stands up for Emano
(April 12, 2002)

MY April 5 column on Mayor Dongkoy Emano's recent political about-face has sparked off a healthy debate on political balimbing-ism in an Internet discussion group called Visayans.
One of the messages posted on the discussion group was from lawyer Angel Quimpo, owner of the famous Gold City Coliseum. Atty. Quimpo's message struck me in that it showed how many people are willing to stand up for Mayor Emano in that discussion group if not, on the Net--the lawyer, in fact, served as the only lonely voice in that electronic wilderness. Since Atty. Quimpo emailed me the same message, I am yielding much of my column space to him today. Quimpo writes:

"Dear Herbie,

"There are a number of times when we think that a politician is balimbing, because he has 'jumped' from [one] party or grouping to the other.

"I wish it were as simple as that. We must however always remember that a politician's change of party in a number of instances is not because of a personal choice. It is in fulfillment of his 'commitments to the people' for a better life and a better community.

"I have no doubt that we will be discussing the pros and cons of this 'assertion' till the end of our life and there will always be disagreements when we go into the motives of an individual politician. This, most especially when it involves the 'political life' of an individual.

"I do not wish to take sides on this issue. Let us just go [to] the facts of the case. Even today, Emano does not deny his friendship and loyalty to Erap in the event that Erap has a chance and runs again. With the Cha-cha [Charter change], when approved, there is that great possibility.

"I did not ask the questions to be answered, but in our friendly conversations with Mayor Emano, and other national officials who care for Cagayan de Oro city, he posed the question of what should he do to complete the two bridges across Cagayan de Oro river, and infrastructure such as the possible widening of the Cagayan de Oro sea port. The question even included the availability of funds for loans to the residents from the only 'very solvent bank' in the country today, the Land Bank of the Philippines. Even as the two bridges have been started, the 'funds' were frozen because of his loyalty to Erap.

"More than four months ago, I told my 'fraternity brod' who is the secretary of the board of the Philippine [Ports] Authority in his visit to Cagayan de Oro, in the presence of the regional director and also the manager of our local port authority, that there is a great possibility that a 'substantial sum will be forthcoming' for the expansion of the port facilities.

"They even inquired whether the 'funds' were for the Cagayan de Oro port, or the port at Tagoloan in the Philippine Sinter or somewhere around there. I told them to determine their priority and appropriate request and lobbying may fulfill where they really wanted the funds to be used.

"The decision whether he (Emano) should [go for] GMA or not was not decided just yesterday. I was among those who 'told him' that his duty is for the people of Cagayan de Oro primarily and his personal preferences or likes must subordinate itself to highest principle of visible service and benefits for the people.

"A few months later, I was told that even before our meeting, not only were the funds released, for the two bridges but even the bank officials of the Land Bank went to see Mayor Emano to immediately act on the papers so that the 'continuation' for the construction of the two bridges will be started. The funds were available.

"The next time we met, Mayor Emano could read in the gleam of my eyes, that apparently the world has turned upside down. It was now the lady President who was courting for his 'political' loyalty.

"Whatever we may think of Mayor Emano, the fact remains that he retains a 'substantial clout' in the minds of a substantial people [in] Mindanao in terms of political affiliations, cooperation and loyalties.

"I know the substantial agony and tears of Mayor Emano, Congressman (Constantino) Jaraula and many others when Erap was out of Malacanang. Our people know this and that is why, in the last elections, those blindly voted into office where from the group of Mayor Emano, or as they call themselves, PDP (PaDayon Pilipino).

"This open secret may now be revealed. Three or four days before the last elections, he called on his people [and told them] that if there was any senatorial candidate in the group of Erap that they may not like to vote for, [they should consider voting] for Senator Franklin Drilon and Congressman (Ernesto) Herrera of Bohol. You know what the people did? They instead chose and elected Serge Osmena and 'DOH it' [Juan] Flavier. I know this for a fact because I was campaigning for Senator Drilon, he being a close relative by affinity, and officials and political leaders in that meeting told me.

"These were among the tests where I have silently concluded that the election was free and clean (in so far as Philippine election is), and that Mayor Emano does not [have] a rope tied around the noses of the people of Cagayan de Oro, part of Bukidnon, and Misamis Oriental.

"I must end here with the simple admission that these are what I know. You are in daily contact of events and you may [know] better. May I however ask it of you as well as others, that [if] in your 'best judgment' there was 'balimbing' involved, then let our people know. However, in terms of priority, he gave way to the necessities of our people than for his personal gain or political advantage, let it also be said. Let our people have the benefit or our 'best judgment' based from [our] own conscience. Regards. Angel"
***
A member of that discussion group, reacting to Atty. Quimpo's post, blurted out: "In my opinion, that is about the biggest crock of nonsense if not, outright bull@#t I have heard in awhile."



Cepalco and Minergy should
explain their inefficiency
(MGSD editorial, April 8, 2002)

THE Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco) and its sister company, the state-accredited independent power producer Mindanao Energy Systems (Minergy), have a lot of explaining to do. For the nth time last Saturday, a large portion of Cagayan de Oro was rendered "powerless" apparently because Cepalco had to repair something or do some maintenance work. This is not the first time that this city--or a large portion of it--was inconvencienced for many hours because of Cepalco's "maintenance operations".

Consumers will understand a power interruption if there is a justifiable reason for it. How many times, for instance, did Cepalco switch the lights off because of fire? In situations like that, the consumers understood. But "maintenance work"?

In Barangay Nazareth, for example, people murmured and grumbled because the electric supply was cut off as early as 6 a.m. last Saturday. The consumers there were not aware of Cepalco's "maintenance work" not until one radio broadcaster read the company's press release an hour or two later. It turned out, Cepalco had scheduled a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. power interruption in major areas of the city that day.

The announcement came after the power was cut off. Is this the way Cepalco treats Cagayan de Oro's power consumers? We don't know with you, but we call that disrespect toward the consumers!

While we do realize that a power utility firm needs to make sure that its facilities are functioning properly, we cannot help but note how remiss these two companies--Cepalco and Minergy--have become.

Saturday's brownout makes us wonder what Minergy, Cepalco's twin, is good for. It's supposedly an independent power producer. Minergy is supposedly the "stand-by generator". It's supposed to ensure a steady supply of electricity in the event that Cepalco or the National Power Corp. (Napocor) fails to deliver the goods. But it appears that Minergy hasn't been doing what it's supposed to be doing aside from making our electric bills more burdensome. To think that Minergy, which is being ran by the same people from Cepalco (conflicts of interest!), is being paid whether or not their services are tapped. And where does Cepalco get the money it pays Minergy? From us, the power consumers, of course!

The irony of ironies is that despite the millions these twins have been questionably raking in every month, the consumers' losses wrought about by their inefficiency don't seem to bother them at all. Shame on them!


The problem with
memos and laws
(Attn: Lawmakers,
lawyers, judges, etc.)
(April 8, 2002)

I'VE always admired bureaucrats. I enjoy watching them in action because they are very orderly.

Bureaucrats live by the book, communicate through memos and make sure their desks are sleek before they leave their offices.

The exact opposite is happening in the newsrooms. Our newsroom, just like most newsrooms I know, is messy. We also hate writing memos because logic tells us, that it's easier to shout something across the office.

Of course, we know that doing that would defeat the purpose because you can't put a yell into a file. And we all know keeping a complete file is part of an effective bureaucracy.

I'm reminded of a memorandum circular issued a few years back by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). Such was a specimen of a bureaucrat in action.

The memo, signed by then Interior Secretary Epimaco Velasco, was meant to answer questions raised about the rule on succession by many local government officials in the country because of vacancies in various public offices as a result of the filing of certificates of candidacy.

The only problem was that Velasco's memo, like the laws it cited, was subject to many interpretations; not even lawyers can agree on what the Velasco memo was saying at first glance.

Try reading this: "It should be pointed out here that clear-cut dividing lines between two or more processes as existing in highly developed countries are often absent in underdeveloped countries like the Philippines, therefore, dividing lines should be defined clearly wherever possible to avoid confusion, while at the same time, observing the principles adopted by the United Nations in preparation for the International Standard Classification of All Economic Activities... Since the law did not divest the vice mayor of his position, he was entitled to the mayoralty when that post became vacant and as his assumption of that office did not make him hold a post different from that for which he became a candidate at the time his certificate of candidacy was filed, he did not forfeit the office of the mayor. It also becomes the more meritorious when it is considered that he was elevated from vice mayor to mayor by operation of law and not by his own will." (Sic, sic, sic and sic.)

Quickly now, what the hell was that all about? Whew, that sure was terribly written. It's this kind of writing that editors have declared war on.
There is an anecdote in the Philippine Press Institute's manual for effective writing about a plumber who discovered that hydrochloric acid was good for cleaning out clogged drains. So he wrote to the National Science Development Board to inform the group of his discovery.

The board wrote back: "The efficacy of hydrochloric acid is indisputable, but the corrosive residue is incompatible with metallic permanence."

Unable to understand the science board's letter, the poor plumber wrote again, saying he was glad they agreed with him.

So the NSDB wrote again: "We cannot assume responsibility for the production of toxic residue with hydrochloric acid and suggest use of alternative procedure."

Again, the plumber sent the board a letter, thanking it for agreeing with him.

The exchange of letters went on until the science development board climbed down off its high horse and wrote: "Don't use hydrochloric acid. It'll eat hell out of your pipes."

The same is true with many of our legislators, judges and lawyers--and even justices. I don't know if they have been taught to write this way. Pastilan, why do they complicate things?

Point is, memos and laws should be written concisely, briefly as much as possible, and very importantly, direct to the point--unless, of course, if the intention is to sow confusion.



Emano's 'Ako'y iyong iyo na'
is a political about-face
(April 5, 2002)

MAYOR Vicente Emano must be ecstatic these days--what with his spellbinding rhetoric that obviously left President Arroyo in a trance during the 4th Mindanao Food Congress in Cagayan de Oro last Wednesday. For the nth time, Mr. Emano flaunted his political magniloquence and delivered a punchline exactly the way ex-president Joseph Estrada would.

"Ako'y iyong iyo na (I'm all yours now)," Emano told Arroyo. That declaration obviously left the President breathless for a moment.

Erap was the reason why Emano had declined to support Arroyo's vice presidential bid in 1998. And Erap was one of the many reasons again why Arroyo failed to talk Emano into supporting her senatorial candidates in the 2001 elections.

The President was unmistakably delighted. Here was Emano, a political enemy whose people called Arroyo "ambisyosang putot" at the height of Edsa 2, kowtowing. There stood before Arroyo a loyal Estrada lieutenant, sidekick, hachetman and crony doing a 180-degree turnaround. What political animal in this planet wouldn't feel enraptured to hear an enemy--and the point man for Mindanao of a rival's party for that matter--singing to a different tune? It was, without a doubt, a political about-face.

But Emano will not admit that his recent caper was equivalent to political balimbing-ism. And anyone who dares to tell Emano straight in the face that he is a political butterfly would most likely catch the mayor's ire.

Technically, there are only two instances in Emano's political career when he betrayed his party. The first was when he left Ferdinand Marcos' Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) supposedly to join the fight against the then strongman shortly before the 1986 Edsa Revolt. The second instance wasn't exactly a case of a politician jumping from one ship to another because there was no "other ship" to speak of. At that time, Emano, who was governor of Misamis Oriental, severed his ties with the PDP-Laban because he knew that a clash between him and the party's Cagayan de Oro boys over the city's mayoral seat was going to be inevitable. So he looked for a reason to dump PDP-Laban. He did but did not join another party. Instead, Emano created his own party, the PaDayon Pilipino!

While it may be true that Emano doesn't have plans to officially become a member of another party, there is no stopping him from forging "alliances" with other political forces. (Come to think of it, how can Emano abandon the PaDayon Pilipino, the party he created for himself?)

Under the context of Philippine politics, "alliances" and/or "coalitions" are similar to bank mergers or something to that effect. Creating the PaDayon Pilipino was a brilliant move, all right. That way, no one can accuse Emano of being a political butterfly because technically speaking, he did not leave PDP-Laban for another mainstream political party. With the PaDayon Pilipino now in place, Emano doesn't have to jump from one party to another again the way other trapos (traditional politicians) in this country are doing.

Emano says he never left PaDayon Pilipino for Estrada's party in 1998. This is true. But why is it that Emano didn't have any problems with his appointment as Lamp vice chairman for Mindanao when Estrada was still in Malacanang? Common sense tells us that it's downright ridiculous for a person to become an official of a party if he is not a member of that group.

Emano is merely playing with semantics. And he probably thinks all Cagayanons have stickers on their foreheads that exclaim "I'm Stupid!" But that has always been the case with Pinoy politics. Sa maloko lang.

It's Emano's politics. It's his life, not ours. Whether or not Emano abandons Estrada is none of our business although frankly, I think many people would have appreciated the political about-face had it been done before Edsa 2.

Still, and the truth is, the PaDayon Pilipino has become an effective tool for Emano to camouflage political opportunism.

Pastilan.


'Question Time' is much better
than 'No Questions Asked'
(March 25, 2002)

WENDY Carlisle, producer of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Asia Science Radio Series, emailed me some comments on an opinion piece I wrote about corruption a week ago. The two versions of that piece, Corruption shot down the Comeback Kid, was ran by this paper and by The Manila Times last March 15. Wendy writes:

"Dear Herbie,

"Thanks for your opinion piece, it was really interesting to read about your
impressions of Australia--and it was great to meet you while in Australia.

"If I may--can I make a few points? I am moved to fury by events in Australia and need to vent.

"In your piece you say TV footage suggests the children might have been thrown overboard. There was no TV footage, just selected stills of this alleged event. The government completely misused these images for their own political purposes. It now transpires that no children were thrown overboard, that the allegations were completely made up. The government has now convened a Senate inquiry into the matter but determined that no one who knows anything will appear before it.

"As for Peter Hollingworth, he's still hanging on as governor general and doing the Republican cause more good with each passing day. Australians are not concerned so much with what he did or didn't do while he was the Anglican archbishop of Brisbane, but how he has handled the matter as the Queen's representative. Hollingworth went on national TV and suggested the 14-year-old girl seduced the 27-year-old priest! The question for Australians is: Is this man out of step with the moral mood of our country?

"And now another question of truth, lies and democracy is troubling Australia. And what a shame you missed this one. In the last few days, one of the prime minister's most trusted confidants (and his parliamentary secretary) told the national parliament that a high court judge by the name of Justice Kirby was unfit to hear paedophilia cases because of his homosexuality, and that he used government cars to pick up 'rent boys' in a notorious red light district in Sydney.

"It's all turned out to be a pack of lies. But by using parliamentary privilege to air his homophobic views and attack the highest court in the land, he's avoided any hint of legal action.

"All this is a salutary lesson in the democracy. Don't lull yourselves into thinking that a 'robust' Question Time gives you democracy and a robust civil society. I know you know it's a lot more complex than that! And from where you are what we have looks luxurious and relatively speaking, it is. But I still think Question Time is a farce!

"Good luck with your free press." --Wendy Carlisle

Now, for my reply:

Dear Wendy,

The issue on Hollingworth reminds me of a Filipino Catholic priest who sexually exploited at least three of his young sacristans. As a "punishment", he was relieved from his parish. But here's the catch: the archbishop appointed the pervert as his personal secretary!

I'm glad that priests and archbishops here don't normally get appointed to public office. But just the same, we have legions of immoral people in our government. It's really unfortunate and sickening to live in a country where being a politician is synonymous to being a cheat, congenital liar, thief and the like.

Too bad, I missed some important points on the recent issues and events in your country. It amazes me though that issues on morality, as in Hollingworth's case, are really a big deal in Australia. The issue on how Hollingworth handled the matter would not have caused the same impact in the Philippines as it has in Australia. I agree that morality should be a major concern in any country. Sadly, the exact opposite is happening in the Philippines.

Never mind, for instance, that Joseph Estrada is a college dropout. That he won overwhelmingly in the 1998 presidential elections despite the fact that it was of public knowledge that he had mistresses left and right doesn't speak well of the kind of society we have become. The fellow even had the gall to say that he was better than then US President Clinton because he (Estrada) publicly admitted to being a philanderer and Bill hadn't. Yet his victory was unprecedented in Philippine history! Good that Estrada got booted from office after more than two years but it took all the mansions he acquired for his mistresses (read: not the mistresses but the mansions) while in office to trigger "People Power 2".

The thing between Senator Bill Heffernan and Judge Michael Kirby really aroused my interest. The damage caused to Kirby and his family are irreparable and I can't understand how a senator could use (or abuse) his parliamentary immunity to deliver a speech like that without double checking his facts. But again, it amazes me that your politicians know how to apologize for their mistakes. That is really inconceivable in my country where politicians never admit that they erred. Here, even politicians convicted of crimes by the Supreme Court still maintain their innocence.

Again, take the case of Estrada--he recently confessed to illegally using an alias when he closed a highly questionable deal with a bank while he was president. Yet he justifies the act by saying he did it only to prevent his friend's (crony's) company from closing shop and to "save poor workers" who were about to lose their jobs.

But what I really find crazy is, in spite of Estrada's confession, many of his supporters still maintain that the act was justified or that the ex-president didn't illegally use an alias!

With regard to the Australian Parliament's "Question Time" (Oops, I had thought it was called Question Hour!)--I'm aware that it isn't serving your country the way it should right now and that somehow it has become a "farce" to many, if not most, Australians. I'm also aware that Question Time is susceptible to abuse and perversion by politicians with vested interests. But the thing is, it can also be a very useful tool in a democracy--in the hands of principled and upright public servants, that is.

Still, I wish we had Question Time in our Congress. I think having a Question Time, with all the jesters shooting all the wrong and stupid questions at the Chief Buffoon, is much, much better than "No Questions Asked".

I really appreciate you taking time to enlighten me on some issues in Australia. I find them very interesting.

It was really nice meeting and listening to you while we were there in Sydney. Many thanks and more power to you and our friends at ABC. --Herbie



You are the weakest link, John. Goodbye.
(March 22, 2002)

VICE Mayor John Elizaga of Cagayan de Oro now finds himself in the shoes that Dr. Rico Jacutin wore when the latter was still the city's health chief. And from where I am sitting, it seems Jacutin's shoes fit Elizaga very well; the vice mayor is now on the exact spot where Dr. Jacutin had stood and had subsequently foundered. The similarity is quite striking--like in the Jacutin case, Elizaga stands accused of sexually harassing a number of lady employees at City Hall.

By sexual harassment, I don't mean sex. Sexual harassment, by definition of law, isn't about sex. It is about the use of one's power, of one's influence, of one's position over helpless and vulnerable people under one's command. Since sexual harassment involves the use of influence and/or power, it is, in a sense, a form of corruption. The act is no different from a chief executive's use of power to get commissions out of state-funded projects or from a public official's use of influence and connections to gurantee the appointment of a relative or crony to a juicy position in government. Since sexual harassment involves the use of one's position (i.e. the influence of the vice mayoral post which Elizaga allegedly misused), the issue has become a legitimate public concern.

Another striking similarity is the manner by which the scandals started. As in Jacutin's case, loose talks triggered the media exposes about Elizaga's alleged "sexcapades". And as a result, there is an ongoing debate on whether or not media should quickly jump into stories or make commentaries based on loose talks, and complaint-letters coming from unclear, if not anonymous, senders.

Based on my experience in covering the Jacutin story, my answer is "yes" and "no". In situations like this, media should be discreet and very careful because they cannot afford to make a mistake. Media can't and shouldn't play God with people's lives. No amount of errata can repair the damage to one's reputation by erroneous reports and unfounded commentaries. Yet media can't just sit on a story of such magnitude given Elizaga's position in government. Normally, media should not entertain stories such as this without a formal complaint. But the Elizaga case, just like Jacutin's, is an exemption (media is not bound by court procedures when they carry out investigations).

Reasons: Being the second highest official in the city, the level of Elizaga's accountability to the public is much, much higher compared to any of City Hall's department heads. Besides, the local media, for years already, have been hearing about Elizaga's alleged promiscuousness in public office from various sources, including people closely associated with him. This is not to mention that it has long been of public knowledge that Mayor Vicente Emano even fixed a similarly serious problem on behalf of Elizaga in Cebu before the 2001 elections. Given all these and based on Elizaga's history (the Cebu case, although settled amicably, was of public record), my opinion is that the Cagayan de Oro media is, so far, doing the right thing.

From the looks of it, Elizaga's problem is bound to worsen if and when a city councilor's daughter makes good her threat to come forward and publicly accuse the vice mayor of sexual harassment; according to the councilor, her daughter is executing an affidavit against the vice mayor at presstime.

This case is really beginning to sound like that of Jacutin's. To recall, the media exposes that rocked the Magtajas administration when Jacutin was still the health chief preceded the bombshells first dropped by a young nurse named Juliet Yee. After Ms. Yee came forward against Jacutin, about a dozen women, including a daughter-in-law of a former Misamis Oriental governor, went public, too, and gave the then government doctor hell. If the councilor's daughter goes public with her complaint, the possibility that other women would subsequently come forward isn't going to be farfetched.

Elizaga's problem appears to be snowballing into a full-blown sexual-harassment scandal. And it seems he has been abandoned by the same people, including the Emano media, who, in 1998, helped him "desexualize" the potentially damaging Cebu sex scandal.

As far as Emano is concerned, Elizaga is politically inutile at this time; he is now serving his third term as the city's vice mayor. Being a third-termer, he is constitutionally barred from seeking the same post in 2004.

Elizaga can opt to run for congressman in the next elections but the idea would give Emano migraines because another ally, Rep. Tinnex Jaraula, still has another office term left. Besides, Elizaga pales in comparison to Jaraula who possesses political prowess.

The prospect of Elizaga running for mayor is far-out; he is a no-match to Emano. This leaves Elizaga with only two likely options: quit politics (momentarily or permanently) or run for councilor either under Emano's PaDayon Pilipino ticket or under the opposition.

The idea of Elizaga running for a seat in the City Council in 2004 isn't going to be a good idea--not to Emano and company. There is no more room for another City Council-seat aspirant as far as Emano's party is concerned. This means Elizaga can only run for councilor in the next elections either as an independent or an opposition candidate. Either way, Elizaga is going to be useless, if not a liability, to Emano and his party in 2004. And since Elizaga is now "good for nothing", unlike in 1998 and 2001, Emano has to drop him like a hot potato.

Simply put, Elizaga, from where Emano sits, is no longer worth the risk. Emano went out of his way already just to "save" Elizaga in 2001 that rescuing the embattled vice mayor for the second time might just become disastrous to the local chief executive's career as a professional politician.

But the exact opposite is bound to happen with Emano leaving Elizaga for dead. This way, Emano will be able to put up a good show and boost his appeal to the masa.

First, the Elizaga case is an opportunity for City Hall to brush off allegations on the existence of the Emano media--that the mayor and his allies are their sacred cows. It's like saying, "Elizaga is a political ally of the mayor but the so-called Emano media are now ganging up on him. See?"

Secondly, severing ties with Elizaga (and making people believe that the mayor detests sexual harassment) would make Emano look different from his predecessor, Pablo Magtajas, who had committed the grave mistake of publicly coming to Jacutin's defense. The Elizaga case would provide Emano the perfect opportunity to make himself look like a good politician and someone who sacrifices friendship and political alliances over principles.

But if Emano is really what he wants the public to believe he is, why did he sweet-talk the family of that lady in Cebu into dropping the case against Elizaga before the 2001 elections? Emano could have kissed Elizaga goodbye an election ago. Or does the mayor consider the short-lived 2001 scandal a case between two consenting adults and the recent one as a case of sexual harassment? Double standard.

The vice mayor-wannabes in the City Council are another big problem for Elizaga. That they have suddenly become sensitive to a sex-related case involving a colleague in the Council is conspicuous. All of a sudden, they are pushing for a "no-nonsense" investigation into the sexual-harassment scandal involving Elizaga in the absence of a complainant. Unlike in media's case, the City Council is required by law to follow legal procedures in its investigations. Unless they strictly comply with legal technicalities, they know an investigation into the Elizaga case is going to be useless. But not politically.

If Elizaga resigns or is suspended, the councilor who bagged the highest number of votes in the 2001 elections--Michelle Tagarda, in this case--automatically becomes the second highest city official. This, naturally, would boost her chances of being picked by Emano as his running mate in 2004. But Emano, a brilliant political strategist as he is, saw this motive and so he made Tagarda step down as chairperson of the committee tasked to quiz Elizaga for delicadeza's sake. A good move, I should say.

But I see another motive here and that is to make the Elizaga case open the Pandora's Box in the City Council--that is, to open the floodgates to other sex scandals that could substantially damage the bid of some councilors to become Emano's vice mayoral candidate in 2004. This time, I don't see Emano's fingerprints here but this could only be the handiwork of people from within the mayor's PaDayon Pilipino party. The writings on the wall are crystal clear.

If I were Councilor Alfonso Goking, I'd watch my back. There are signs that Goking is going to be the next "victim". Being a wealthy Filipino-Chinese businessman like Elizaga, he has become a threat to some of his fellow councilors who have long been trying to score pogi points with Emano. Mind you, Mr. Councilor, Tagarda is not the only vice mayor-wannabe in the City Council.

As for Elizaga, he may have brought this one to himself. Too bad. Based on the statistics and on the vote of your colleagues in City Hall, you are the weakest link, John. Goodbye.

Pastilan.


Corruption shot down the 'Comeback Kid'
(appeared in The Manila Times on March 15, 2002)

SYDNEY, Australia -- Citizens of this country should take pride in the way their government is practicing democracy, not to mention the checks and balances that the Australians have institutionalized.

In this country, the executive powers are shared by two people -- the governor general who, as the representative of the head of state, controls the defense establishment, and the prime minister who takes charge of the Cabinet.

There we were in Canberra last month, all a dozen Filipino journalists from Mindanao, witnessing members of the Australian Parliament as they quizzed Prime Minister John Howard over the alleged cover-up of what the Australian media have dubbed as the "children-overboard affair." It was alleged that children of asylum-seekers were thrown overboard in October and that Howard deliberately misled the public because the Australian elections were just around the corner at that time. But TV footage suggests that children might have indeed been thrown overboard and Howard subsequently ended up in hot water. The queen's representative, Peter Hollingworth, is in very hot water, too, not because of what he has done as a public official but because of what he allegedly did many years before he became governor general. Dr. Hollingworth is accused of giving sexual-abuse cases a snow job when he was still archbishop of Brisbane.

What caught my attention and what was really amazing was the way Prime Minister Howard was compelled to answer questions shot at him by the members of parliament, particularly members of the opposition. I was told they do it every week (they call it "Question Hour"). That is something unimaginable in the Philippines where the one and only boss in the executive department does not feel he/she should answer for his/her actions before Congress. In the Philippines, a president always thinks Congress is his/her Mickey Mouse.

I think we, Filipinos, should start thinking about raising the level of accountability in our own executive department and not give the president so much discretion. It makes a lot of sense to me.

One case in point: Not too long ago, there was growing international interest in the Philippines. There was very little damage to us compared to what our neighbors had suffered as a result of the Asian Flu. We pulled off a surprise, all right, and for that, we were called Southeast Asia's Comeback Kid. Given the fact that democracy in this country was barely two administrations old at that time, not to mention that it was still feeling the adverse effects on the economy of Ferdinand Marcos' plunder, the Comeback Kid moniker was good enough.

Corruption, paired with the lack of finesse, if not the absence of scruples in government during the Estrada administration, changed all of that overnight. And all of a sudden we were back to square one.

This is not to say that corruption issues didn't hound the Ramos administration. Had Joseph Estrada been a good president, history would not have been this kind to Fidel Ramos who, come to think of it, was one of Ferdinand Marcos' infamous students and martial-law hatchet men. The administration of Erap's predecessor was far from being perfect but it has been credited for laying the groundwork that could have propelled the country's economy had it not been for Estrada and his gang. In the case of the Estrada administration, one can see how corruption, plus crappy corporate governance, can demolish a foundation and turn a supposedly promising economy topsy-turvy in just a snap.

While President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appears to be an improvement in terms of management, she is still faced with the Herculean task of pushing corruption down to a fairly large level.

Corruption is undeniably a major factor that inhibits investments, both domestic and foreign, that are vital to economic growth. It drains resources intended for development, defeats the purpose of service programs for the poor and subverts the public's trust in the government. Lastly, who wants to help a country that is governed by thieves? These are compelling reasons why the Arroyo administration should carry out a forceful and believable program against corruption.

If this offers any consolation, the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy noted that there was an "improvement" in the Philippines' standing in its list of corrupt countries in Southeast Asia. From 9.0 last year, the country scored 8.0 based on a survey of a thousand expatriate business people in Asia. Yet this year's mark was still way below the average grade of five.

We're still "threatening" to unseat Indonesia which, with its grade of 9.92 in the recent PERC survey, is ranked as the most corrupt country in the region. The prospect of the Philippines becoming No. 1 in terms of corruption in Southeast Asia isn't implausible what with the country's judiciary finding itself under fire.

And with Estrada's obvious machinations to bring his case to the streets by inflicting more damage upon the judicial system, chances are, the public sentiment that the courts can't offer much protection would be fanned aflame. This recent Estrada play script could have disastrous repercussions on the already ailing economy as in the case of Indonesia where a shambling and sickly legal system (a result of corruption) has taken a toll on the primary oil producer in the Far East and Pacific regions.

Sustained leadership and political will are necessary ingredients for an effective campaign against corruption. Simply put, any attempt at attacking corruption should start from the top -- from the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.

Information on the prevalence and profile of corruption in the Philippines wouldn't be a problem; data are extensive and can prove to be very useful in attacking corruption.

Perhaps one of the first things we should do is to stamp out monopolies, minify discretion and increase accountability especially in the public sector as what appears to be the case in Australia. Consider this formula: "Monopoly + Discretion - Accountability = Corruption."

It's high time that the country reduced opportunities and motivations for corruption. Corruption has to be turned into a low-reward and high-risk undertaking. Which is why the outcome of a high-profile plunder trial such as that of Estrada's is of utmost importance. If found guilty, the case of the former president would deliver a strong message -- that is, corruption does not pay.

Also, the citizenry should play a vital role in such a gargantuan house-cleaning task. This is where the so-called civil society groups, non-government organizations and the like should come in.

The level of public oversight has to significantly increase. People should be aware of what their officials are accountable for and should be able to judge their performance. This would mean relieving the people from the "culture of corruption" that has enslaved this country for decades. For how can the citizenry perform such a role if the people themselves are partly responsible for many of the corruption cases in the public sector?

Ideally, a government should be of, for and by the people. But what if the people themselves are the ones corrupting their government? That would be another matter.


When Dongkoy says jump, they jump
(March 11, 2002)

HOW does one spot a journalist who has been corrupted by politicians?

Former Customs Commissioner Guillermo Parayno Jr. writes: "Many in the media are using their facilities to share in the fruits of corruption instead of performing their role as neutral observers in a democratic society. Their modus operandi ranges from threats, coercion and intimidation through media exposure to blatant participation in illegal activities. Unfortunately, corrupt officials have no difficulty keeping these media practices alive. It is just considered an additional expense."

Hmmm, sounds very familiar.

Let's not go far. In Cagayan de Oro, for example, corruption in the media has spread so wide and has stuck so deep it would seem to many that an overhaul of the journalism community would be essentially equal to the annihilation of city-based journalists. But believe me when I say that changing the Cagayan de Oro media is doable. There are journalists out there who have not been corrupted and there are those who may have succumbed to pressures in the past but are now back on their feet.

I have spent nearly half my life in journalism enough to spot "contaminated" news and commentaries. And I can say without any fear of contradiction from senior journalists in the city that politicians are partly to blame for the great deal of wish-wash in the Cagayan de Oro media.

Historically, the "original and still the most general use of the idea of corruption, was to identify damaging impurity, some kind of intrusion or distortion which prevented something from being as it should..." writes Australian political scientist Barry Hindess. In media's case then, corruption, in its most general sense, refers to anything that prevents media from being what it should. This isn't too far from the Cagayan de Oro Press Club's own definition; it has defined corruption as "any act or inaction that betrays public trust."

Since 1998, how many times did city-based journalists tone down if not, kill stories simply because these were potentially damaging to the politics of Mayor Vicente Emano? In such cases, many of the city's journalists deliberately withheld information--and the truth for that matter--to the public.

Take the bankruptcy issue that rocked City Hall a few months back. Only a handful of journalists reported and opined on it. Most of the city's news media organizations opted to keep mum. And when the so-called Emano media finally broke their silence, it was only because City Hall was already in need of a defense.

Remember when Vice Mayor John Elizaga was scandalized by accusations he impregnated a young lady from Cebu who once served him as a campaign worker? The story was too big for the Emano media to kill but they dropped it like a hot potato shortly after the mayor and company's return from Cebu. The only difference between Elizaga and ex-city health officer Rico Jacutin was that the latter did not have an Emano when a brave young nurse went public with an accusation that the then local government doctor sexually harassed her. Unlike in Jacutin's case, the public never heard of any media practitioner tailing Elizaga inside a moviehouse or spying on him in some dingy motel.

For the Emano media, the mayor's allies like Joseph Estrada are martyrs and honorable. From where they sit, Emano is flawless and always makes the right stand on issues. As far as they are concerned, Emano is a saint and all his political enemies are devils. To them, Emano's political enemies like Sen. Nene Pimentel don't deserve any respect and are ngitngit pa sa alkitran. If Emano is Kenny Rogers (or Ben "Gabi ng Lagim" David), Pimentel is Yoyoy Villame to them.

If Emano says the world is square, then the world is square. If Emano says black is white and white is black, then black is white and white is black. Which was why when the mayor said the crime rate in the city would have gone down had policemen been gutsy enough to do what he wanted them to do (he didn't say it on air but what he meant was too obvious), Emano-inspired media surveys that showed most Cagayanons favored the summary execution of criminals were made.

It's not yet too late. Wake up, Cagayan de Oro media.

Pastilan.


Helter-skelter
(March 8, 2002)

SOMETHING chaotic is always bound to happen whenever media practitioners start using their pens--or their mikes--to get back at each other. And in situations like that, all of them, every so often, end up as the losers. They lose their faces, their credibility and every thing that go with it.

Take the case of this week's "war of the networks" in Cagayan de Oro. The word war was triggered by a mysterious letter sent to DxCC-Radyo Agong that named commentators from a rival station, DxIF-Bombo Radyo, as suspects in an alleged sexual orgy that supposedly resulted in the death of a young female helper.

Realizing that the letter could be a hoax, DxCC held on but for some unclear reason, the mayor of the city, Vicente Emano, managed to get hold of a copy of the still unverified complaint. A good "Bombo scooper" as he is, Mayor Dongkoy forewarned and leaked the potentially damaging letter to DxIF.

Sensing danger, DxIF built its defenses and exposed what it called an impending "demolition job" against its commentators even before DxCC could go on air with the mysterious letter. What remains unclear is whether or not there was really a plan by DxCC to make the letter public. But that is water under the bridge now. What is certain is that the DxIF defense irked Zaldy Ocon, a DxCC commentator. Ocon felt DxIF was alluding to him as the brains behind the supposed impending "demolition job."

And so the commentators from DxIF and DxCC started trading barbs. In the process, ethics were set aside and all the rules in the book of conventional journalism were violated.

In the meantime, radio listeners were provided with a treat. A few were disgusted, definitely. But in a society where rumors and scandals are always in demand, the Bombo-Agong war provided most of the radio audience with entertainment in astronomical levels.

The "F" word (actually its Cebuano equivalent) was uttered on air on several occasions. At least one pistol was cocked over and over again before the microphone. Threats were made. And challenges to fisticuffs and duels were hurled on air.

But aside from the entertainment the two radio stations provided through their unconventional commentaries, the listening public was also given the opportunity to get a glimpse of what is really happening outside the announcers' booths.

For instance, one commentator exposed another for selling a religious cult-produced "medicine" that has not been approved by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD). Another commentator exposed another for raking in money by brokering and subcontracting for projects that were funded by City Hall. Talk about conflicts of interest and influential peddling.

Perhaps it's not really a bad idea for reporters and commentators to wash their dirty linens in public. The news media play a vital role in informing citizens about what's happening and to some extent, in shaping public opinion. Being stakeholders, the media audience should know how factors and forces outside newsrooms, announcers' booths and studios can influence the media commodities we call news and commentaries.

If there's something good the public got out of this week's Bombo-Agong war, it is the realization that much of the news and commentaries that are finding their way into Cagayan de Oro's airwaves are rubbish if not, corrupted by personal and political interests.

Thanks to the "network war", many of the skeletons in the closet are out.

I used to wonder why Mayor Emano and his close associates never get criticized the way the local chief executive's political enemies are being lambasted by some radio commentators.

When was the last time the two giant radio stations criticized Emano? Honestly, I can't recall.

The skeletons could explain why Emano appears to be a sacred cow to many of Cagayan de Oro's broadcasters.

Pastilan.


The tale of the missing panty
(February 4, 2002)

THERE was this joke about Bill Clinton during a news conference with reporters at the height of the "Oral Affair" scandal. It went something like this:

"Mr. President," asked one reporter, "do you believe men need to have sex?"

Clinton replied: "I did not have sex with that woman!"

That was a joke all right. But I bet politicians like Councilor Benjo Benaldo of Cagayan de Oro can pick up a lesson or two from that. The question wasn't about Clinton or Monica Lewinski. It was a question about all men, including Newt Gingrich. But poor Bill couldn't help but overdo it his shields simply gave him away--at least, in that humorous yet fancied anecdote.

For Benaldo, the lesson should be this: Don't be too defensive lest your own defenses collapse and betray you.

Which was exactly the case when Benaldo started calling this radio station supposedly to beg his "media friends" not to report about his escapades together with two other councilors--President Elipe and Marvin Pacheco. Thanks to Benaldo and his big mouth, everybody knows now that even councilors enjoy watching Club Gion's owner and ladies as they violate a city law against pornography.

I must say though that pornography lies in the eyes of the beholder. If Councilors Benaldo, Elipe and Pacheco say watching young, possibly underaged, females drop every piece of clothing from the head down and watching them bare their intestines out, isn't pornography, I won't argue. The problem with our anti-pornography laws, national and local, is that they have not clearly defined porn.

That is, however, the least of my concerns now. Truth is, I am more concerned and deeply disturbed over the possibility that one of the three councilors may have pocketed the panty of one of the young GRO-dancers of Club Gion.

My suspicion is based on the Benaldo account, as told to a reporter, that Councilor Elipe's "partner" was no longer wearing any underwear by the time she was "tabled". I don't know with Councilor Pacheco but I suppose he also had a "partner" at that time (if he did have, I hope she still had her T-back in tact). Otherwise, Benaldo would have said Pacheco's "partner" was also "absent"--just like his. Aha, naa pa moy suki-suki ha?

Being a semi-retired barhopper myself, I can't really point to Elipe as the primary suspect in that supposed panty-snatching case knowing that in establishments like Club Gion, anything can happen. Many things have changed since my bar-hopping days. These days, I guess undergarments are passed from one table to another, from one private room to the next, as quickly as money change hands inside bars.

But I pity that young GRO-dancer. Without that T-back, I bet she caught cold after that close encounter with Elipe, Pacheco and Benaldo. Here is a young lady allowing herself to be exploited because she needed the money. The last thing she needs is a councilor taking her hard-earned T-back away from her.

Where is her underwear? For goodness' sake, give it back!

Pastilan.



Sex, lies and the City Council
(February 1, 2002)

COUNCILOR Benjo Benaldo of Cagayan de Oro has been calling his friends in one radio station apparently to request them not to name him as one of the local officials who frequent girlie bars in the city.

No need to be on the defense, Benjo. You have biological needs too.

If I were in the shoes of Benaldo, I'd copy Mayor Vicente Emano's nothing-wrong-with-nude-shows line.
I must admit that I find some logic in the mayor's argument that it's a "normal" thing for Cagayan de Oro to be a host to establishments that make the world a happier place for Peeping Toms. Besides, argues the great Dongkoy Emano, the most progressive cities in the world have voyeurism-related businesses. It's part of tourism--that is, if we follow Emano's line of thinking. That's a strong argument, Mr. Mayor--albeit void when it comes to morality.

Yet who can dare point an accusing finger to Emano? Who can dare say that City Hall's policy on girlie bars is immoral? Archbishop Jesus Tuquib who didn't even lift a finger when one of his parish priests, a certain Fr. Antiporda, was accused of performing fellatio on at least three young sacristans back in the '90s?

We live in a morally unprincipled and bankrupt generation that no longer considers morality an important political issue. Otherwise, Emano, Benaldo and company would not be in government.

Don't deny it, Benjo. And stop asking reporters not to name you. You've been seen in a striptease joint together with two other councilors.

Besides, Councilor Benjo and company pale in comparison to another official who is very known for his promiscuousness.

This D.O.M was forced to sign at least three checks in exchange for the silence of a councilor's daughter, her uncle and another fellow at the height of last year's election campaign period.

It so happened that the official was caught in a very compromising position with the lady inside a cottage somewhere in the eastern part of the city.
Sensing trouble, he begged them not to go public because what was at stake was his seat. To make the long story short, he paid them to shut up.

Fortunately for him, they did -- at least for awhile.

Pastilan.



It's about time America also felt our pain
(January 28, 2002)

AT first glance, there seems to be nothing wrong with the idea of the US helping the Arroyo government in flushing out the Abu Sayyaf sonsofbitches in Basilan. If there are rats in the house and if its occupants can't exterminate them, the idea of getting a helping hand from a neighbor who knows how to deal with the problem or hiring experts to do the job doesn't sound like a bad idea.

In our case, these Abu Sayyaf gangsters (I refuse to call them rebels because they really have no cause) are the rats. By all means, rats like them must be exterminated. For bringing shame to this country, I say these @#$%^&! deserve to be castrated and hanged at the tallest National Power Corp. tower on Basilan island.

There is one problem though and that is, the Philippines is not an ordinary house. We live under a sovereign state that has a set of laws. These statutes must be followed otherwise our government will become that of men rather than of laws. And neither should anyone twist the meaning of these laws for any reason.

In 1991, the Jovito Salonga Senate voted against a treaty that sought to extend the stay of US military bases in the country. But seven years later, the Senate, under a new leadership, gave its nod on the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a treaty that allows Americans to take part in joint military training exercises in the country.

Sadly, the Arroyo administration is now using the latter treaty as framework for the present deployment of American forces into the country, particularly in Mindanao.

Arroyo and company say the Americans are here merely for the "war games" and would only advice local security officials on how to effectively deal with the Abu Sayyaf menace. In other words, if we are to believe Malacanang, the US forces won't be involved in actual combat. But come to think of it, if the exact opposite happens, wouldn't it be tantamount to the establishment of a foreign military base in the country?

Is anyone buying the Palace's claim? This, I say to Malacanang: Frankly, you can tell that to the marines!

Of all places, why Basilan? Every Tom, Dick and Harry knows what's likely to happen in Basilan once the American troops start playing their "war games" on the island-province.

Will Arroyo and her bright boys please cut the bull? Do they expect us to believe that the American "experts" would merely accompany our soldiers when they comb Basilan's jungles? Chances are, the Abu Sayyaf would spray them--both Filipinos and Americans--with automatic gunfire. And what would the Americans do? Jack off? Kadakong tinonto. Kalokohan.

Again, we should not have any problems with the idea of Americans helping us in getting rid of the Abu Sayyaf. Since the Abu Sayyaf's links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network have been clearly established, Basilan, which is the primary lair of the gang, should be a concern of the US in the light of President George W. Bush's pronouncement immediately following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and on the Pentagon. We, Filipinos, should appreciate Washington's concern and help. But any American assistance should not in any way go against the house rules of our sovereign state.

America, Filipinos feel your pain. But have you ever thought the pain you will cause by pressuring our President to circumvent our laws and go against our very own Constitution? The last thing we need now is another impeachment trial.

Make no mistake about it, Madame President. A violation of the Constitution can cost you your seat. Or has the US promised you protection?

Pastilan.

That 'little king' in the LTO
(January 21, 2002)

SOMETHING tells me that the public is not seeing the real picture of what is really happening in northern Mindanao's Land Transportation Office (LTO) these days. Frankly, I find it strange that an LTO employee is doing the rounds, telling Cagayan de Oro-based journalists of how persecuted he supposedly is under the hands of Esteban Baltazar Jr., the new land transportation regional director.

Andrew Tupag, a records officer at LTO, claims Baltazar has been harassing him.

I have two questions.

(1) How is Tupag being harassed?

(2) Why is Tupag being harassed?

The answer to the second question--granting for argument's sake that Tupag is indeed being harassed--is quite obvious. He is not a Baltazar man.

What is unclear to me is how Tupag would answer my first question. How?

Frankly, I can't understand why Tupag calls his relief as officer-in-charge of the LTO's extension office "harassment". If Baltazar ordered him placed inside LTO's "freezer" after the recall order, that I would call harassment. But Tupag was merely relieved as OIC of the Puerto office so he could do what he is supposed to be doing in the first place--that is, to function as the regional LTO's records keeper. (Tupag is just a records officer and not an office manager, much more a director or something similar.)

Technically, Tupag should be happy about his relief. As an OIC, he managed an entire office and handled many problems that go with his previous designation. Yet he only got paid as a records officer because that's his official position. Now, given Baltazar's order, Tupag's only problem--if problem that is--is just to make sure that the regional LTO's records are in order. And he gets the same salary! Is that a problem?

But I guess Tupag has gotten used to being a king in his own little kingdom in a barangay called Puerto that he can't just give it up without putting up a fight. I think the problem with Tupag is that he has gotten used to the perks that go with being the LTO-Puerto "director".

Under the context of the prostituted Philippine civil service, a director's seat--especially that of LTO's and the like--is very juicy.

For instance, a corrupt LTO director can send out "flying crocodiles" on the highways to extort money from erring motorists and get commissions. That would make him or her the king or queen of the Kingdom of Flying Crocodiles.

In exchange for some cash, he/she can have a hot car registered and can have the licenses of erring drivers renewed without any questions asked.

In the guise of travel expenses and the like, a director can also steal LTO money. And if a director is smart enough, he/she can have his/her tracks covered by having financial records burned even before an audit can be carried out.

A corrupt LTO director or a "little director" can also secretly do business with the LTO, say, by having a relative or a friend or even mistress run a car insurance company or a drug-testing center. (Incidentally, I just renewed my driver's license and found out that LTO-accredited drug-test centers charge much, much more than the transportation office's fees for license renewal. Crazy government!)

The list of top-level corruption in the LTO can go on and on and on. I only hope corruption opportunities are not the reason why Tupag is making all these noise against Baltazar.

Hoy, Tupag, atupagin mo nga ang dapat mong atupagin!

Pastilan kang dako!



One great contribution to science and comedy
(January 18, 2002)

A LOT of things have happened since Ray Tomlinson sent a test message to himself in 1971. "QWERTYIOP", the first e-mail message, was sent by Tomlinson to himself from one computer to another via Apranet, a computer network that was the precursor to the Internet.

Now, three decades later, Mother Earth has become much smaller--thanks to Tomlinson and company, including that software architect named Bill Gates.

Thanks to Tomlinson and company, I can write stories almost anywhere and send them to my editors in Manila in just a matter of seconds. Someday, I see myself working in shorts--writing, editing and designing newspaper pages in the comfort of my own house, that is--and sending the goods to the newsroom before the deadline via the Internet.

With Yahoo and company, I need not worry about communicating with my wife everyday while I'm in Sydney and Canberra a few weeks from now. Why should I place expensive long-distance calls when all I have to do is look for a PC with an Internet connection? We can simply send e-mails to each other on a daily basis. And with mics and webcams, we can even voice chat and see each other live. Cool.

Editors Ruel and Nelson who will put the opinion pages to bed while I'm gone are worried about what fillers to use in place of my column. "Why should you worry?" I asked them. "These days, technology allows journalists to beat the deadline wherever they are."

Believe me when I tell you that without the e-mail, I would be less productive as a newsman and I would be losing approximately half my income. And so would the thousands of e-mail-dependent journalists around the third planet from the sun.

Because of e-mail, my playmate and closest cousin Joel and I have managed to locate each other after many years (Joel now lives in Canada). We now send e-mails and pictures to each other often and, if time allows, occasionally chat by way of Yahoo.
But despite its many benefits, the e-mail is subject to misuse and abuse.

I for one get a lot of unsolicited e-mails from people and groups I do not even know. And most often, these e-mails are designed to rip people off.
"Congratulations, Herbie! You won!" reads the subject of one e-mail I got. Normally, I never open messages like this for the simple reason that I'm not into online gambling or lottery and the like. So if I'm not into those kind of things, common sense tells me that I can never win. After years of deleting e-mails like this at first glance, I decided to open one similar incoming message just for the heck of it. Just as I had suspected, it was nothing but a catch, and no more than a hoax. Just imagine if one opens all these incoming messages. It'll be a waste of precious time.

If one isn't careful, he/she may just come across an e-mail with an attachment carrying a computer virus. (Once, a bug managed its way into my PC, leaving nothing but empty directories!)

I also do get a lot of gossips and black propaganda in my mailbox. Many of them come from Cagayanons and Misamisnons who evidently have an ax to grind against some local officials. There are however e-mails that raise legitimate issues and concerns but there are plenty of messages that end up in the 13th File simply because they are downright far-out, lies, obvious hatchet jobs if not, not worth printing at all because they don't make any sense.

Believe me when I tell you that the No. 1 target of the hate e-mails I get is Mayor Dongkoy Emano. From where I sit, the mayor is the most hated Cagayanon, este Tagoloanon, on the Internet today.
The mayor need not worry though. Many of his masa voters in Cagayan de Oro aren't into computers. Besides, many of the hate e-mails I have been getting come from Cagayanons and Misamisnons in the US. (Thanks to the Internet, they are getting local news updates daily through Gold Star and other papers that maintain websites.)

Please don't ask me to print any of the libelous I-hate-Dongkoy-Emano e-mails because I won't.
With all its disadvantages and imperfections, the e-mail--and the Internet for that matter--has made this world smaller, so small that even a Lebanese named Ghassan is enjoying the funny picture of Mayor Emano.

We should be grateful to computer engineer Ray Tomlinson, Bill Gates and company for their contribution to science which is nearly as remarkable as their contribution to the world of comedy.



Smoking role model
(January 14, 2002)

I WAS among those who frowned over the passage of the Anti-Smoking Ordinance by the Cagayan de Oro City Council in the early '90s. The ordinance, patterned after that of Quezon City's, was authored by then Councilor Tony Soriano.

Soriano, who later became vice mayor, was--and still is--a non-smoker. So were Jun Damasing, the Council's presiding officer, and Ambing Magtajas, the mayor, at that time. Before the passage of that law, only Councilor Dulce Ytem and another one or two legislators, not to mention journalists, filled the session hall with smoke every Monday afternoon.

That the Magtajas administration came up with such a law was understandable; they--most of them anyway--were nicotine-haters.

The Soriano Ordinance was bad news to people like myself in that it banned smoking in just about all the public places in the city--government offices, malls, auditoriums, public vehicles, restaurants and movie houses, among others.

Argued those who opposed the anti-smoking law: "There was no way City Hall could deprive smokers of their right to smoke!"

Soriano and company were unmoved; they passed the controversial ordinance as planned.

To some extent, the implementation of the Soriano Ordinance was a success; it minimized cigarette smoking in many public places in the city. It's because of this city law that people no longer smoke inside Cagayan de Oro's theaters. This is one of the reasons why I would rather watch a movie at home where I could light up and puff sticks to my heart's content.

Soriano's law has been extremely unkind to smokers like me. But what can we do? That is the law.

I only hope Dongkoy Emano, the city's mayor, realizes this, too. He cannot go on violating this law in the full view of the public. Why? Because he is the mayor, for Christ's sake! And mayors are expected to uphold and implement the law.

But there's a simple way out for Emano. All he has to do is tell his robots in the Council to scrap the Soriano Ordinance. By doing that, the Emano Council would be doing their boss and smokers like me a big favor.



Never underestimate
the intelligence of monkeys
(January 11, 2002)

THE remake of Planet of the Apes last year raised quite an interesting question I've never asked myself before: What if chimpanzees ruled Cagayan de Oro? I did not ask myself that because I had thought the idea was a bit quirky--until recently. The reality, I must accede, is that monkeys are already exercising authority over us in the city.

Lest I be misunderstood, I'm not making any reference to the intellectual ability of Mayor Dongkoy Emano or his status as Cagayan de Oro's No. 1 banana.

Mr. Emano's private and public exploits speak for themselves. Although a self-confessed college dropout, he was able to build a political empire in Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro (watch out Camiguin, you may be next!) that is ruled by a "neighborhood association" turned political Taliban called PaDayon Pilipino.

The undisputed political kingpin in this part of the country didn't really have humble beginnings but he used to be ordinary. He was, and still is, a gambler--and a very lucky one at that. This distinguishing feature of Emano's personal nature prepared him for other types of business: massage clinic, tailoring, rural banking, monkey business, etc. By "monkey business", I mean "politics".

Just for the record, I have yet to hear a chimpanzee run a massage clinic, a dress shop or a rural bank. And I have yet to hear Xavier University or the University of Santo Tomas (where Mr. Emano was supposed to earn a degree had he opted to finish college) admit a gorilla. You see, apes, even the most talented ones, cannot go to school in the Philippines because they are broke and can't pay the tuition. (The gorillas in Malacanang and Congress have yet to grant scholarships to monkeys.) If only monies grow on trees, we would be seeing a lot of apes going to school.

Never, never underestimate the intellect of monkeys. Remember Koko? No, I'm not referring of course to Koko Pimentel who, incidentally, was Emano's challenger during the last elections. Koko the gorilla, if you would recall, made the headlines in 1998 when she participated in the first interspecies chat on the Internet. (I started chatting on the Internet only in 1999--meaning Koko was ahead of me by roughly a year.)

What many people are aware of is that Koko is fluent in sign language; she knows some 1,000 signs. What many don't know is that she understands a great deal of the spoken English (approximately 2,000 words) and can actually "talk"--thanks to a computer software called Lingo that allows Koko to "have a voice".

Development psychologist Francine Patterson, who trained the lowland gorilla, narrates how Koko became quite anxious when she overheard people discussing about the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US and after she caught a TV segment that described the tragedy. Here's an excerpt of a dialogue between Koko and Dr. Patterson with regard to the terrorist attacks:

Patterson: "Why are you upset?"

Koko: "Feel very sorry." (She then gave a big audible sigh.)

Patterson: "Talk about the trouble?"
Koko: "Man cut-neck, know takeoff."

By the bye, Koko has a tested IQ of between 70 and 95 on a human scale where 100 is considered "normal". It wouldn't surprise me if in the future, another gorilla would get 100 or even more.

If apes ruled us, would things get any better?

Would they get rid of idiots on our roads?

Would they show some political will and do something about the problem on illegal sidewalk vendors in the city's public markets?

Would they be transparent and post City Hall's financial statements in public places as the law requires?

Would people who did not vote for them get a fair treatment?

Would lowly drivers and the like be spared from mauling and verbal abuse? Would summary executions become a no-no? Would human rights get some respect?

Would masiao operators Boy and Alam get arrested, charged in court and subsequently convicted?

Would the politicians-sponsored prostitution of the local news media become a thing of the past? And would politicians and/or their lawyers, spin doctors, consultants and bootlickers stop masquerading as newspaper columnists and broadcast commentators?

Would politicial mudslingings cease?

Would there be good laws? And would ordinances be fully enforced and followed?

Would there be morality in public service?

Our list of questions can go on and on. Given all the problems in Cagayan de Oro city, perhaps the people should start thinking about putting a few chimpanzees in charge of City Hall. Real chimps, I mean.



This major is a major problem
(December 31, 2001)

THIS is my last opinion piece for 2001. I had thought of making it some sort of a year-ender. I would love to think about all the beautiful things that happened during the last 12 months and write all of them down. But I'm afraid I won't; I just had a change of mind--what with all the ugly complaints (murmurings and grumblings) I've been hearing from Cagayan de Oro's budding and senior reporters about the way the army's 4th Infantry Division has been treating them.

Since 2002 is just a few hours from now, I might as well greet the new year, and Camp Edilberto Evangelista for that matter, with a bang. Oh, hell!

I don't know if the division commander, Brig. Gen. Alfonso Dagudag, is aware that his command is facing a crisis on--for lack of a better word--"good community relations". Camp Evangelista, for quite a time already, has been unfairly pigeonholing city-based media practitioners.

Without batting an eyelash, I say the culprit is no other than Maj. Johnny Macanas, the present commanding officer of the Cagayan de Oro-based army division's G-7. I dare accuse Macanas' command of stereotyping Cagayan de Oro journalists.

Once I forgave Macanas and company for ill-treating the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC), the city's premier news media organization of which I was then the president. I would no longer go into details since Macanas and his then deputy personally went to my office to apologize. It was merely a simple case of discourtesy, of officers behaving in a manner not befitting gentlemen. But it nearly cost Mindanao's military chief Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu, then a brigadier general and 4th ID commander, his face. Macanas was apologetic, and I and the other press club officers, without hesitation, offered him a warm handshake.

Considering it a question of procedures and not of characters, we tried to kiss and make up. We called it quits.

But the way Camp Evangelista, particularly Macanas' G-7, has been treating most reporters since then, I am now inclined to believe that the officer's humble gesture at the press club office was merely a show intended to spare Gen. Cimatu from further embarrassment--and so that the major could get to keep his head. Simply put, I now doubt if Macanas was really sincere at that time.

That only a few journalists are now frequenting Camp Evangelista should serve as a gauge to the effectiveness or the ineffectiveness of the army division's community relations efforts.

There was a time when Camp Evangelista was frequented by both budding and seasoned journalists because it was a source of no-nonsense news. Now, all we get are egregious military propaganda which, every so often, can't even be salvaged into a simple news story without the desk editors smelling them as such.

As a struggling journalist then, I would pass by the army camp almost everyday before I start beating the newsroom deadline. Gone are the days when the likes of veteran journalists Cynthia de Leon, Jay Valleser, Ritchie Salloman, Gerry Daomillas, Cris Diaz, Joe Tasara and Froilan Gallardo, among others, would troop to the camp--from the offices of the G-7, CRS (now CRG) to the CMO (I don't even know if this unit still exists), vice versa--just to get data for their stories. (Incidentally, this was the group that broke and covered from start to finish the Alexander Noble-led mutiny in October 1990.) Of this group, I think only the "unsinkable" Froilan Gallardo still regularly covers the army camp; Gerry Daomillas, too, but only occasionally. The rest of the pack have either relocated or have opted to pursue different careers.

Point is, a new breed of journalists could have long taken their places had it not been for the lousy--or very shitty, to be precise--"community relations" of the G-7 under Maj. Macanas.

It burns my ears to hear of one of Macanas' few favored reporters bragging about how he and his other privileged colleagues have been virtually exercising control over the G-7's decision to release information to the news media. According to him, all the information/stories pass through them first and are not released to other journalists outside the kolambo without their go-ahead.

And hypocrisy of all hypocrisies! Members of Camp Evangelista's so-called "media cartel" (read: Macanas' bootlickers) have the gall to profess about how "respectable" and "clean" they supposedly are compared to other Cagayan de Oro-based journalists when they do not even have a problem with turning the G-7 office into their own personal newsroom. There, they would freely and shamelessly use computers, papers, printer and precious ink, the fax machine, and occassionally or frequently place long-distance calls, among others--all at the expense of the taxpayers. Goodness gracious, it's as if they own Camp Evangelista!

Now, would you call that "clean" and "respectable"? If that isn't a case of media-military conspiracy to rip the public off, I wouldn't know how to call that. If these aren't corruptness, these Camp Evangelista-tolerated media excesses are definitely an appearance of corruption.

(Talking of corruption, what's this I've heard that at least one of those in the so-called media cartel is on the take? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised.)

And while all these are being done literally and figuratively under the nose of Brig. Gen. Dagudag (principle of command responsibility, remember?), reporters considered by Maj. Macanas as "lowly" are being badly treated, and belittled for that matter, by reason of their affiliation with what the G-7 leadership thinks as "insignificant" or "harmless" news media outfits.

Most of Cagayan de Oro's reporters are not after of special treatment. Frankly, Macanas' favored media practitioners can have all of it. But a little respect, a little courtesy from the G-7, wouldn't hurt, Maj. Macanas.

How many times did I phone the G-7 because of a breaking story only to be told by a private or a corporal or a sergeant that Macanas was not available? Reason: either Macanas is not yet in or has just left the office or is attending a command conference or is just outside, participating in a physical-fitness program. It turns out, many of Cagayan de Oro's journalists have had the same frustrating experience with Macanas. Ironically, the major seems to always have the time for his "media cartel".

Journalists or not, citizens have a constitutional right to public information except when national security is concerned. Which is why the screening of G-7 information by this "media cartel" is abhorrent.

Or is this a case of Macanas and his G-7 being placed under what looks like a martial rule by a few pampered and swollen-headed journalists?

If I were in Gen. Dagudag's shoes, I'd kick Macanas out before the major completely screws up Camp Evangelista's "community relations" beyond repair. Besides, Macanas is already overstaying in the G-7.

The military can definitely use somebody like Macanas to pester Abu Sabaya in Basilan.

Happy New Year!

Pastilan.