Emmanuel Dooc

Now that we have the coronavirus vaccine, our authorities should ensure that we implement its successful rollout. We have witnessed a series of simulation exercises in key places of our country while waiting for the delivery of the vaccines. Indeed, if practice makes perfect, then there should be no hitch in its distribution. In fact, some wisecracks have observed that our preparation is complete; the only thing lacking is the vaccine. This is now the time where the rubber meets the road. Our government should be able to demonstrate that we are successfully taking the first step down the road to normalcy. Definitely, the first 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine will hardly make a dent in our efforts to achieve herd immunity. It is less than half a percent of our target of 140 million doses we need to immunize 70 percent of our population.

IT is totally repulsive when a country makes a bungled response to the pandemic, particularly in acquiring and distributing the Covid vaccine. Timely and effective response spells the success or failure in dealing with any catastrophe. For instance, we have read unfortunate accounts where the Trump administration had mishandled government efforts to curtail the spread of the coronavirus and its apathy to enforce health protocols. These are man-made disasters that exacerbate the virulence of the pandemic. 

Never give up your dream. This is an advice that should be taken to heart by anyone who is truly determined to serve his people. Joe Biden has just demonstrated to us that it pays to be resolute; that dogged determination bears fruit in the end. Biden won the presidency, the greatest gift that the American people can bestow on a deserving citizen, after three serious attempts to capture it—in 1988, 2008 and 2020. After long and arduous years, he finally achieved his lifelong ambition by becoming the 46th president of the United States.

I scanned the papers the other day but there was no mention at all about the 124th birthday anniversary of the 4th President of the Republic of the Philippines, Carlos P. Garcia. Garcia was born on November 4, 1896 in Talibon, Bohol. He was a poet, teacher, orator, and guerilla leader during the war. He started his law studies in Silliman University but he transferred to the Philippine Law School where he earned his law degree.

The quest will soon be over. American voters will troop to the voting polls today to elect their 46th president. This election may be viewed as a referendum on the Trump presidency.

Despite what all the polls were saying, Hillary Rodham Clinton lost to Donald J. Trump in the presidential election of 2016. Every pollster in town was saying that Hillary would clobber Trump with a wide margin. An overwhelming number never thought that the reality TV star could win the US presidency, but they were all proven wrong. In fact, Hillary got 2.87 million more votes than Trump did but Hillary lost in the Electoral College. It was the fifth time in US history in which the winning president lost the popular vote. Trump got 304 electoral votes while Hillary received 227. A winner needs at least 270 electoral votes to win.  

AT long last, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Recent reports show that our national debt will grow to a whooping P10.16 trillion by the end of 2020. This reflects a hefty increase over our P7.73 trillion outstanding debt recorded in 2019. Our gross domestic borrowings consist mainly of sale of government securities such as treasury bills and bonds. The Bureau of Treasury also plans to avail itself of a P500 billion short term borrowing from the BSP through the repo facility and advances. This will place our country’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio above 50 percent for the first time since 2010.

In exactly two weeks, American voters will troop to the polling places to elect their next president. In 1952, the most famous American soldier who commanded the mightiest and largest military force in the history of warfare, General Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower, was elected to the same position. Ike was born on October 14, 1890 to spouses David Eisenhower and Ida Stover. He was the third child in a brood of six sons. When Ike returned from the war after successfully leading the allied forces in recapturing Europe, a neighbor asked Ida:  “You must be proud of your son,” and she replied, “Which one?”

The first Philippine Assembly, the precursor of the present House of Representatives, was inaugurated on October 16, 1907, or exactly 113 years ago today. The historic event was held at the Grand Opera House in Manila, which still stands to this day. The convening of the Philippine Assembly was a landmark moment in our political development. This legislative body was composed entirely of Filipinos who were chosen by their compatriots in an election held on July 30, 1907. Having a Filipino lawmaking body to enact laws for themselves had rekindled our people’s dreams for self-rule and aspirations for complete and genuine autonomy. It marked the beginning of Filipino participation in self-governance, which eventually led to Philippine independence from the American colonizers.

Something must be really wrong when a highly respected medical journal in the US, the New England Journal of Medicine, weighs in on American politics and calls on its high-browed readers to vote Trump out of office. It’s the first time in its 208th-year history since the magazine was first published in 1812 that the prestigious journal has become political and urged Americans to deny the incumbent president his reelection.

Under the Donald J. Trump administration, Americans live under a poisoned political climate. Partisanship has reached its nadir and every political move taken by one is subjected to a political litmus test by the other side. Every action becomes suspect and any promising leader from the other side of the political fence is marked for political assassination. Every conversation is characterized by insults, prevarications and demagoguery displacing decency, facts and fairness from the public discourse. This sad state was in full display during the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden last week. However, in the long and recent past, we can cite exceptional cases in government and politics where civility and friendship between politicians coming from opposing parties and government officials advocating conflicting ideologies and philosophies had triumphed despite their adversities.

“Death before resignation.” That’s roughly the English translation of the title of this column. People find it difficult to leave their positions once they have enjoyed the perks of their office. This is particularly true to those who occupy a public office, whether elective or appointive. They cling to their posts since it means power and privilege.

Since the first televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, the US presidential debate is the most awaited event in every election to select the next US president. Last Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio, President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off for their first debate in 2020. The debate took place amid the background of a ravaging pandemic, which has infected over 7.2 million Americans and caused a total of 210,000 deaths. It was watched by the majority of its population reeling from the severe economic downturn and crippled by monumental job losses. Across the US, its streets and cities are bursting with militant protesters and counter demonstrators, which highlight the growing racial divide.

I voluntarily left the government service after working under two presidents of our Republic and I don’t envy the role of Atty. Harry Roque. Being the spokesman of President Duterte is a high wire act that requires the ultimate balancing skills particularly when the official line conflicts with one’s own personal conviction. For instance, such a disconcerting position came to fore when Atty. Roque was explaining the absolute pardon granted by his principal to US Lance Corporal Marine Scott Pemberton who killed transgender Jennifer Laude inside a hotel in Olongapo City after he realized that Laude was a man. As a former human-rights lawyer who even acted as counsel for the victim, I can only share Atty. Roque’s discomfiture as he appeared on TV salvaging a bad situation from the worst.

The “Game of the Generals” played upon the concerned public since the current administration took the helm of government was again recently highlighted by the grim reminder of Martial Law. In a webinar last weekend to observe the 48th Anniversary of the promulgation of Martial Law in our country, Dr. Temario C. Rivera, the former chairman of the Political Science Department of the University of the Philippines, sounded the alarm of appointing former military and police officials in the government.

Two weeks ago, wearing the mandatory mask and a face shield, I bought the latest book on US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) at the Fully Booked shop in BGC. A national best seller, “Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life,” written by acclaimed historian Jane Sherron de Hart, is an account of RBG’s extraordinary life and her passion for justice marked by her meticulous legal scholarship to promote gender equality and minority rights. RBG was born to a Jewish couple in Brooklyn, New York at the height of the great depression on March 15, 1933. She was of humble origin and her family suffered financial hardship following the severe downturn of the US economy.

I was intrigued when I received my invitation to join the 18th MAP International CEO Web Conference 2020 the other week. The theme of the conference sounded interesting enough, “A Whole New World: Reigniting the Stalled Global Economy,” but I was more allured by the name of one of the featured speakers in the top-caliber forum. Her name: Amal Alamuddin Clooney, who was chosen by top anchorperson, Barbara Walters, some years back as the “Most Fascinating Person.” Aside from being the wife of famous movieland’s heartthrob, George Clooney, Amal is a barrister par excellence and an uncompromising human-rights advocate and staunched media freedom activist.

President Donald J. Trump’s present imbroglio that he finds himself in, exactly seven weeks before American voters troop to the polling places to elect their next president, was precipitated by a purely human frailty—lying. It seems that American presidents never learned their lessons well. President Richard Nixon not only lied but also tried to cover it up, and that resulted in his unceremonious departure from the White House. President George H. W. Bush has been infamously quoted: “Read my lips: No new taxes.” But when he could not negotiate with the Democratic-controlled Senate the budget he needed to meet his pledge, he imposed new taxes. President Bill Clinton as usual, in his smart-alecky way, had said: “I smoked but I did not inhale.” And now Trump was caught in his own words several times when his personal interviews with Washington Post investigative reporter Bob Woodmark were heard by the whole world.

The title of this column refers to a traditional religious hymn of petitioning pardon to our Lord for our sins committed against our fellowmen. This hymn is sung in honor of the Divino Rostro, which is celebrated every 4th to 6th day of the Novena of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Naga City that falls on the first week of September. It’s a weird coincidence that on the same period, President Duterte granted absolute pardon to US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton who was found guilty of killing a Filipino transgender, Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in 2014. 

The name “Osmeña” used to be a magic name in government and politics. For over a century, the Osmeña name dominated Philippine politics and the powerful clan had lorded over Cebu politics for many decades. Four members of the family, Sergio Sr., Sergio Jr. (Serging), Sergio III (Serge) and John Henry (Sonny) served the Senate with distinction. All four ran for vice president of our country, plus cousin Emilio (Lito), a former governor of Cebu, at different times and under different presidential bearers (Manuel L. Quezon, Fidel V. Ramos, Danding Cojuangco and Alfredo Lim). Serging even sought the VP post as an independent in 1961 and bested the official NP bet, Gil P. Puyat Sr., but lost to Emmanuel Pelaez.

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz was born on November 17, 1934 in Balanga, Bataan. On August 26, he died from multiple organ failure caused by Covid-19 infection at age 85. He was the first Filipino Rector of San Carlos Seminary. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, Archbishop of San Fernando and later as Archbishop Emeritus of Lingayen-Dagupan. He completed his seminary studies at the University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary and earned his Theology at the Lateran University. He was also a canon lawyer. Cruz authored several books on religious subjects, which are well read by both the clergy and the lay people. He was an outspoken man of cloth who was an uncompromising nemesis of gambling, corruption and other social ills of the country. After his retirement in 2009 at the age of 75, he acted as the judicial vicar of the National Appellate Tribunal of Appeals in the Philippines.

“Law and order” is a recurring theme in US politics particularly among the Republican presidential candidates. In recent past, its leading exponents were former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, both Californians. “Law and order” is a powerful message, which resonates effectively well with the electorates. It will always be a relevant issue in any political conversation whenever there is a perception of breakdown of law and order in the country. 

Finally, after several heartbreaking attempts, Joe Biden got the long-sought prize in his life-long political odyssey. His previous presidential runs in 1987 and 2007 dismally ended without even winning a single primary contest. On his first attempt, he was accused of plagiarizing a part of his campaign speech, inflating his academic performance and exaggerating youth activism. On his second attempt, Obama and Clinton largely dominated the field and he withdrew from the race after getting less than 1 percent of the votes in the Iowa caucuses. He admitted doing some dumb things in his unsuccessful presidential bids and obviously he learned his lessons well. This year, as a frontrunner, he was more disciplined—no longer the gut politician who is partial to ad-libbing and swaggering just to entertain the crowd. After initial setbacks this year, his political fortune turned around in North Carolina when he won his first primary election largely with the support of the black majority voters. And there was no turning back. He won a string of decisive primary contests leaving no chance for his closest opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, to catch up and he clinched his party’s nomination as its official standard bearer for the 2020 presidential election.   

AS I was writing this column, there had been mounting opposition from the financial sectors against the one-year debt moratorium for borrowers earlier proposed in the Bayanihan to Recover as One (Bayanihan II) bill currently under consideration. Even the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Insurance Commission had joined hands to assail the proposal.    

The 2020 Democratic National Convention, which will officially proclaim the party’s presidential and vice presidential standard bearers begins today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For the first time in history, this year’s convention will be virtual, minus all the excitement and the rapturous crowd, but is still expected to send the Democrats across the nation to frenzy and solidarity. The convention shall create a further surge in Biden’s favor, which will widen the lead of the challenger over the incumbent president. Most pollsters placed Biden ahead by at least 10 percent. It’s no wonder that President Donald J. Trump has even suggested postponing the November 3 election and has rejected the release of funds to the US Postal Services to derail the implementation of the mail-in ballots that many Democrats adopt.

AS a tough law enforcer, he was popularly known as “Dirty Harry,” but as a no-nonsense public servant, he was “Mr. Clean Government.” In his more than 60 years of public service, his name remained unsullied by any scandal and his conduct in office which spanned a lifetime had been nothing but exemplary. He may not be the greatest mayor Manila ever had, but his love for the city would be unsurpassed. Who among our government officials would give up the second half of his Senate seat and run to reclaim his old mayoralty post in his fair and beloved city? Only General Alfredo Lim, whose heart beats in unison with the residents of Manila. Lim was a Manilan through and through.

Recession is a dreaded term in politics. No leader of his country can have a sound sleep if the economy has gone south. Our economy took a nosedive when it plunged into a recession after the gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by a whooping16.5 percent in the second quarter. This is the steepest economic decline our country has seen in the past four decades, even surpassing the worst scenario the economists had forecasted. Our worst nightmare is now upon us and we are now facing its dire consequences. On top of this, we continue to struggle against the devastation of Covid-19 and there appears to be no end in sight to this global health problem.

Little is known about the murder of the Spanish Prime Minister by an Italian anarchist to avenge the death of Dr. Jose P. Rizal some eight months after our national hero’s execution by the Spanish authorities. On August 8, 1897, one Sunday afternoon, Prime Minister Senor Canovas del Castillo of Spain was shot to death in front of his wife by an Italian national named Michele Angine Golli. Del Castillo was lounging at the public bath of San Agueda in Barcelona when Golli approached him and fired at the top government official. Upon his arrest, Golli readily admitted that he shot the Prime Minister to retaliate against the execution of his fellow Barcelona anarchist, Rizal, on December 30, 1896.

President Duterte has recently fulminated against oligarchs, which for centuries have dominated the economic and political life of our poor nation. This is not something new and unheard of. Every politician in this country makes war against the filthy rich and resorts to mouthing anti-oligarchs rhetoric. It appeals to the masses and identifies himself with the poor, a surefire formula to get their support. This approach to win votes will never go out of style. But once elected into office, he becomes a coddler of the oligarchs and serves the interests of the business elites. Or worse, he creates his own oligarchs who will be beholden to him. For those who supported his political adversary, he will make sure that their business would suffer under his term. All the government machineries and resources, particularly the regulators, will be deployed against them.  

A headline reads: “President calls protesters who disagree with him terrorists. That puts him in the company of the world’s autocrats’.” No, that news item does not refer to President Duterte nor does it concern the implementation of the dreaded “Anti-Terror Act” that President Duterte signed into law not too long ago. That news story dealt with the recent handling by heavily-armed paramilitary officers belonging to the US Department of Homeland Security wearing camouflage uniform arresting protesters in Portland, Oregon and hauling them off in unmarked cars acting under the orders of President Donald J. Trump who had repeatedly accused anti-racism demonstrators across the US as “terrorists.” The violent crackdown and employment of ruthless tactics against peaceful protesters by the US Homeland security officers, established after 9/11 to deal with terrorism, have no place in a country that flaunts its adherence to democratic principles. It is reminiscent of the repressive regimes when despots and tyrants ruled.

Before Princess Diana, there was Jackie Bouvier Kennedy, the People’s Princess. She would be celebrating her 91st birthday anniversary today if she’s still alive.  She was born on July 28, 1929 in Long Island, New York. Her parents were John “Black Jack” Bouvier III and Janet Lee Bouvier. Her parents divorced and she was raised by her mother and her stepfather, Hugh Auchincloss, a rich lawyer and stockbroker. Jackie was a precocious child and she loved horses. Before she attended kindergarten, she was a regular competitor in horse shows where she won many prizes.

Once more, the country is preparing for the annual ritual more popularly known for its abbreviation, State of the Nation Address, which is the President’s yearly address delivered to the joint session of Congress. The Constitution mandates the President to give this speech at the Plenary Hall of the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City every 4th Monday of July each year. While critics of the government may not accord the Sona the significance that it deserves, this political exercise is critical as it is a vehicle for the head of state to report his accomplishments in office during the preceding year and present his plans and programs of government for the coming year and his remaining years in Malacañang.

Practically, the news coverage of CNN last weekend was entirely devoted to an 80-year-old US congressman from Georgia named John Lewis who died from pancreatic cancer. Who was John Lewis? He was one of the 10 children of Alabama sharecroppers who once dreamed of becoming a minister after listening on the radio to a young preacher named Martin Luther King Jr. To train himself up, he delivered sermons to the chickens in their coops. He preached to them everyday, marrying the roosters and hens and even solemnizing the dead poultry.

The Philippines may finally be competitive in future international basketball tournaments such as the Fiba World Cup, Jones Cup and the Olympics where height is unquestionably might. In a game where stratospheric players dominate the game, we have not just one but four Filipino players with potential heft and height who can carry our national colors in world competition. And except for June Mar Fajardo, our reliable tower of strength at 6’10,” also in the future roster will be three youngters all under age 20—7-foot-2 Kai Sotto, 6-foot-10 AJ Edu, and 7-foot Sage Tolentino.  Sotto is now a member of an NBA G League to prepare for a possible NBA stint. Edu is currently playing with an NCAA team in the US, while Tolentino is a member of two-time state champion high school team, the powerful Maryknoll High in Honolulu, Hawaii.  This is definitely a welcome development for the basketball-crazy Pinoys.

It’s hard to accept that the members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises and its Technical Working Group have voted according to their conscience after serious and objective consideration of the testimonies and evidence adduced at the hearing of the ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal application.

The US of A had a grand birthday celebration on the 4th of July, which placed Mt. Rushmore National Memorial very much in the news. Holding the 244th anniversary of America’s independence at the majestic mountain beneath the colossal monument of four of the US’s greatest presidents was President Donald J. Trump’s way of extolling himself before his sycophantic supporters. It was another political exercise to “make America great again,” Trump’s campaign slogan that carried him to his successful presidential bid in 2016.

One of the most underrated presidents of the US is General Dwight Eisenhower, despite the fact that Ike gave his country eight long years of peace and security. He commanded the largest army ever assembled in the history of warfare and orchestrated the invasion of Europe, which resulted in the victory of the Allied forces against the Axis powers. He was a decent and highly principled man who inspired his men to support and fight for his cause—both in war and peace. He was a simple man not given to grandiloquent speeches like General Douglas McArthur, nor flamboyant and egotistical like General George Patton. As mentioned in his memoir, “Eisenhower: In War and Peace,” “he valued understatement.” Eisenhower, just like the army of his day, “did not decorate themselves like Christmas trees.” He was molded in the fine tradition of Generals George Washington and Ulysses Grant who were greatly respected by the soldiers they led and the citizens they protected.

Once in a while, we inhale a breath of fresh air that gives hope to our dreary existence. That’s what Associate Justice Marvic Leonen’s speech at the new lawyers’ online oath taking on June 25, 2020 has brought us. As one media organization has reported, the speech “roused an online audience that seemed hungry for a glimmer of hope.” His keynote address to our newly minted lawyers who successfully hurdled the 2019 Bar Examinations was the only glow amid the pandemic of bleak news around us. It rekindled our faith in our judicial system, which has reached its nadir a few days ago with a lower court’s decision on the Rappler case.

John Bolton is the ultimate insider man. For 18 months, he was present in The Room Where It Happened (the title of his controversial book) as the National Security Adviser of the most powerful man in the world, President Donald J. Trump. Even before he got appointed to his post, Bolton had been regularly consulted and summoned by the White House.

Recent court decisions seem to debunk the generally held view that the judiciary is the bulwark of individual liberty. Gone was the time when the courts served as the most independent institution to protect the rights of the individual. Once considered as the bastion of freedom, the courts were seen by our people as the safe harbor that secure them from any assault of their liberties.

Today is the 159th birth anniversary of the greatest Filipino—Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Rizal did not bear arms and engage in arm struggle against the foreign tyrant. By the power of his pen, he opened the eyes of his countrymen to the abuses of the Spaniards and inspired them to aspire for freedom.

There are sacrosanct provisions in our Constitution and they are enshrined in the Bill Of Rights (Article III, The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines). It’s a set of rules that guarantees civil and human rights and liberties to individuals who live in a democratic society. It is the centerpiece of the fundamental law of the land, which is cherished by its freedom-loving citizens. The first two sections of the Bill of Rights pertain to: firstly, the requirement of due process before anyone can be deprived of life, liberty or property and, secondly, the inviolability of the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches. Furthermore, Section 2 guarantees that “no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce…”.

One of the hardest things to do during this period of pandemic is getting a haircut. Before the health crisis, a trip to the barbershop was the least of our worries. With the enhanced community quarantine, barbershops and salons were closed and customers that need a haircut were left to their own devices. One could try to trim his own hair, but this is hard to do unless you have a third eye at the back of your head. Many would ask a housemate for help but only few would dare accept the challenge unless he is prepared to create a lifetime enemy. So, most people I know would just let the hair and the beard grow and convince themselves that they look great with their new looks.

The lockdown has introduced me to an inseparable company—the Netflix. Last week I watched the documentary film titled Bobby Kennedy for President. It featured Robert Francis Kennedy, better known as “Bobby” and his quest for the US presidency. Before I watched the film, I didn’t have a favorable impression of the guy. To me, Bobby was the ruthless member of the politically minded Kennedy siblings and a political opportunist who joined the 1968 Democratic primary elections after Sen. Eugene McCarthy had pierced the supposedly invincible armor of President Lyndon Johnson who everyone believed then was running for reelection. John F. Kennedy was definitely my King Arthur while Sen. Ted Kennedy was my Lancelot. Bobby’s image was not definitely helped by his earlier role as legal counsel of the Senate Committee headed by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, which investigated alleged communists in the government during the early1950s.

Two cowboys, one deceased and the other still very much active, have refused to ride into the sunset with their memorable cinematic achievements. Both were the top box office stars during their heyday and their devoted fans celebrate their birthday anniversaries five days apart. They enjoyed parallel careers in the movies and became famous in western genre films. Both were actors, directors, filmmakers and winners of the Academy Awards. They were the most popular actors of their generation and topped the movie charts for decades in the 20th century. They both became active in politics. One actively campaigned for his friend, Ronald Reagan, when he ran for Governor of California and later as President of the US. The other actually served as Mayor of Carmel, California. They were respected by their peers, and enjoyed the adoration of their legions of fans around the world. Aside from movie awards, they were accorded distinctive honors outside the film industry. They have remained movie icons up to now and they belonged to Hollywood’s ranks of immortals.

Nurses in this country are treated as second-class citizens. After laboring hard to earn their diploma and passing the board exam, many of them accept indecent wages just to earn a living from their chosen profession. Many work despite the meager pay and working conditions to varnish their credentials and gain the work experience required for them to work abroad. They are lucky if they find jobs in government hospitals where the compensation is a little better.

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” declared the former world heavyweight champion, Joe Louis. You can, but not forever. The long arm of the law will eventually catch up with you. Such has been the fate of many notorious war criminals and rogue characters that have blazed the pages of history. This was the common destiny of Adolf Eichmann, one of the major organizers of Holocaust who was captured in Argentina by the Mossad in 1960; Dr. Joseph Mengele, the so-called Angel of Death, who did macabre death experiments among the prisoners at the Auschwitz camp and drowned off the Brazilian coast while eluding arrest; and Radovan Karadzic, former president of the self-declared autonomous Bosnian Serb Republic, who was found guilty of ethnic cleansing by killing tens of thousands of Bosniaks and Croats during the Bosnian war. Now the latest is Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga, who was arrested last weekend outside Paris.

Karol Josef Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920—exactly a century ago yesterday. He is better known as Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian Pope in over 400 years. He was the Prince of the Catholic Church from 1978 and his Papacy ended upon his death on April 2, 2005. He was born in Wadowice, outside the city of Krakow, the former capital of Poland. His life was attended by heartbreaking deaths of all his immediate family members before he attained full adulthood.

It’s not exactly a new idea but the Duterte administration has given it a fresh look in the light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, which is engendered by severe congestion in Metro Manila. How can the authorities enforce a quarantine in slum areas when there is hardly a room for a family of eight to stay inside a 4-meter by 4-meter abode? How can one practice social distancing when the entire village resides in a vacant lot as big as three basketball courts? The influx of migrants from the provinces to Metro Manila to seek greener pastures has blighted the conditions of our inner cities. Absent any employment and resettlement program, the upsurge in population has created colonies of informal settlers, which has spawned a host of social problems.

During my childhood in our quaint little town, the first movie house, Illusion Theater, opened in the early 1950s. Its facade was brightened by neon lights, the first ever in our place. On opening night, people from all over the province trooped to our town to watch the lights show and the inaugural movie, Siete Infantes de Lara, directed by Manuel Conde. We had three families cramped in our living room and kitchen floor that stayed with us that weekend to watch the dancing lights and the showing of the first commercial movie in our town.

Today is the 136th birthday anniversary of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd US president who used to be the most underrated chief executive of the US. American students of politics and government now rank him as among the top presidents of that country, mainly for his plain honesty, integrity and uncanny ability
to make great decisions. In his nearly eight years’ reign, he was credited for major achievements like the implementation of the Marshall Plan, the establishment of Nato and the promulgation of the Truman Doctrine.

He’s not a decorated war hero whose exploits during the last world war are celebrated in a book or film. His service in the British army earned him the rank of a captain. Now he is the most renowned fundraiser around the globe, personally raising the equivalent of $40 million after he started during the Holy Week and ended on his 100th birthday anniversary on April 30. At the beginning of April, his birthday month, he vowed to raise funds by walking around his garden 100 times before his 100th birthday.

AS we commemorate Labor Day, we remember the name Augusto Sanchez, more popularly known during his time as “Bobbit.” Together with Jovito Salonga, Renato Saguisag and Avelino “Ave” Cruz of ACCRA, they formed the best legal minds, political reformers and illustrious sons of Pasig, Rizal. Except for Salonga, they are products of the San Beda College of Law. All are bar topnotchers, with Salonga and Cruz even copping the first place in their respective bar examinations. After passing the bar, Bobbit joined the law office of Sen. Jovito Salonga. He later set up his own law office, which specialized in labor law practice. He was the foremost defender of ordinary workers and an active advocate of labor rights. He also published and edited a weekly paper in his native town of Pasig called the “Weekly Post,” which was eventually branded by his tormented adversaries as the “Weekly Pest.”