"In societies where Robbing Hoods are treated like a celebrity it is but natural to expect political parties to act like a Mafia syndicate" Political Jaywalker "In a nation where corruption is endemic people tend to confuse due process with aiding and abetting criminals" Political Jaywalker "War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left" Bertrand Russell "You have just one flash flood of money, you keep your people poor. It's like a time bomb and it's scary" Philippine Lawmaker

Miguel Zubiri and the seven electoral thieves!

Migz it’s time to go! Alis dyan!

Mahiya ka naman pare!

Ninakaw mo na ang tatlong taon ng termino ni KOKO Pimentel bilang senador! Ngayon tutuluyan mo pa at nanakawin mo pa rin and natitirang tatlong taon.

Kapal Muks ka talaga!

Tapos sasabihin mo yong mga mani-ubra mo para kumapit tuko dyan sa ninakaw mong puwesto walang kinalaman sa mga boto sa protesta mo ng mga ka-alyado mong senador sa senate president contest. Ano kami uto-uto!

Ito namang si Angara pa class pa! Sign of desperation daw ni Koko at sinasabing walang kinalaman ang pagiging ka-alyado niya sa pekeng senador na si Migz yong boto niya to give due course and continuance to the counter protest of Zubiri. Kung ganoon pala – ano ngayon ang basi mo sa boto mo tungkol sa pagpatuloy ng kontra-protesta ni Migz ha ! Maginoong Senador? Paki-explain nga sa taong bayan! At sabihin mo sa mga iba pang kasabay mong bumoto para matuloy ang kontra-protesta ni Migz kung ano ang katuwiran nila sa boto nila tungkol sa protestang ito. Ang tinutukoy ko ay sila Lapid, Legarda, si Gordon, at si Pangilinan na para bagang nawala sa sariling bait ng sabayan ang boto mo. Di bale na si Lapid medyo madaling maunawaan yong boto niya (madilim kasi ang paningin niyan lalo na pag napuwing ng Lahar) – pero itong si Legarda na galing palang sa kampanya ng Pagbabago kuno – medyo mahirap tanggapin na talagang madam butterfly nga pala siya. Lalo na si Gordon na mainit na kumampanya sa ideya niyang Bagumbayan kuno at saka ganito lang pala – kinuranahan niya ng maka-taeng (hind maka-tao) desisyon ang panghuling buwan niya bilang senador ng bayan. At itong si Pangilinan naman na nag-aambisyon na maging presidente ng Senado lumabas talaga ang pagka-oportunista niya. Sa ginawang ito ni Kiko muling na-ungkat sa ala-ala ng bayan ang pagka Mister Noted ( noted siya ng noted habang dinadaya nila sa canvass si FPJ noong 2004 garci –elections) niya at ang mabuti nyan palitan na lang nya ang pangalan niya as in Senator Cuneta para ma-ala-ala niya palagi na talagang si Sharon lang ang dahilan kaya siya nahalal. You don’t deserve to be the Senate President Mr. Kiko. Sa desisyong ginawa ni hindi ka nga deserving na manatiling senador – Senate President pa. Puwee! Bagay sa iyo maglunoy na lang sa kankungan ng Kasaysayan.

Sa mga Senador na na-upo sa Senate Electoral Tribunal tanging si Senadora Pia Cayetano lamang ang nagpakita ng likas na Kagitingan at sinusugan ang dissenting at desenting opinion ni Justice Carpio na dapat ibasura na ang kontra-protesta ni Migz Zubiri at ideklara na si Senador Koko Pimentel bilang totoong panalo ng nakaraang 2007 election.

Pag ang chairman ng isang lupon ay hindi sumang-ayon sa desisyong isinagawa asahan ninyo na kadalasan nay nangyaring kabulokan sa desisyong iyan. Biro mo – chairman ng SET siya pa ang nag-dissenting opinion. Ngayon Bayan alamin natin kung bakit gustong ibasura na ni Justice Carpio ang kontra-protesta ni Migz.

Noon pamang 2008 alam na ng SET na ang totoong nanalo noong 2007 senate election ay si Koko at hindi si Migz Zubiri. Kaya lang inilusot yan si Migzs ay dahil sa ka-alyado niya si GMA (and rumor current flavor daw siya ni GMA noong time na yon ) at yong mga Ampatuan (massacre boys) sa Mindanao ang naatasan na idaya si Migz upang manalo at ilaglag si Pimentel. Walang taros at garapal and pandarayang ginawa at pinatay pa nga ang maginoong Musa Dumasidsing isang eleksyon supervisor na isinigaw ang pandarayang nangyayari para lamang mailusot si Migz.

Noong May 2007, si Koko Pimentel ay nag-file ng motion sa Commission on Elections para mahinto ang mga pandarayang ito sa Maguindanao . Ngunit ibinasura ito ng Comelec ni NBN-ZTE ABALOS. Basi sa madayang bilang sa Maguindanao nabigyan si Zubiri ng 195,000 na boto na halos ay 95 percent ng 205,000 votes sa buong Maguindanao at sinasabing ito ay isang statistical improbability. Nang Umapela si Koko sa Supreme Court, sinusugan naman nito and Comelec. Matindi talaga ang asim noong may crush kay Zubiri kaya sunod sunoran ang mga justices sa Supreme Court.

Sa ganoong paraan nalamangan si Koko ng 18,000 na Boto ni Migz at dali daling ipronoklama naman siya ni dating komelec commissioner na si (NBN-ZTE may 200 ka rito ) ABALOS. Nangyari ang madaliang proklamasyon na ito pagkatapos na maibunyag sa mga malawakang pahayagan na nag-dinner diumano itong si Abalos at ang tatay ni Migz sa isang malaking restaurant sa metro-manila.

Walang nagawa si Koko Pimentel kung hindi dalhin ang hinaing niya sa Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET). Iprinotesta niya ang 2,658 precincts sa Maguindanao Lanao del Norte and Sur, Shariff Kabunsuan, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu at Basilan. Karamihan sa mga lugar na ito ay kontrolado ng mga Ampatuan massacre boys. Noong July 2008, pagkatapos na bilangin ang 25 porsyento sa mga prinotestang presinto ni Koko sinabi ng SET na solid ang ebidensya na may dayaan ngang nangyari noong 2007 na sapat upang mabago ang resulta ng senate election. May sinasabing Rule 79 ang SET na bago ipagpatuloy ang kabu-oan ng isang protesta aalamin muna sa 25 porsyento ng mga sangkot na presinto ang totoong bilang upang mapag-alaman kung talaga ngang may nangyaring dayaan. Ipinapaubaya ng SET sa nag-proprotestang kandidato ang pagpili kung aling mga presinto ang isasali sa unang bibilangin. Kaya batay sa resulta ng 25 percent count sa mga protestang presinto ni Koko ipinagpatuloy ng SET ang recount sa natitirang 75 porsyento. Dito nakita talagang lamang si Koko ng humigit kumulang na 300,000 votes sa kay Zubiri.

Ngunit hindi natapos and usapin dito kasi nag counter protest itong si Migz. Humingi siya ng recount sa mahigit na 73,000 presinto sa buong bansa na halos ay one third ng lahat ng polling precincts noong 2007 elections. Irineklamo ni Zubiri na siya ay dinaya sa mga presintong ito na nagkalat sa buong Bansa. Kung papaano magagawa ni Koko Pimentel ang pandarayang ito na noon ay isang kandidato ng opposition kasabay ni Noynoy Aquino , Sonny Trillanes, at ni Francis Escudero ay hindi ipinaliwanag ni Zubiri

Kung ihahambing ang kontra-protesta ni Migz sa protesta ni Koko ang sangkot na presinto sa bilang na 2,658 ay hindi nga umabot sa 2 percent ng kabuoang bilang ng lahat ng manga presinto noong 2007 elections. Talagang makapal ang pahid at halatang pinapatagal lang ni Migz and usapin upang kumapit tuko siya sa puwestong nararapat na okupahin ni Koko Pimentel.

Bagamat mabigat sa kanyang kalooban nagpakita si Koko ng ‘grace under pressure’ at mahinahon niyang pinursugi ang pag-kontra sa counter protest ni Migz. Ayon sa Rule 79 binilang muna ang mga boto sa 25 porsyento ng 73,000 precincts na isinangkot ni Migz sa kanyang protesta . Ang rule 79 ay isinagawa ng SET upang mabisto kaagad ang mga walang kuwentang protesta kahit hindi na bilangin ang natitira pang 75 porsyento ng mga sangkot na presinto. Kung ating bigyan ng masusing atensyon ang 25 porsyento ng 73,000 precincts ay humigit kumulang na uma-abot sa mga 18,000 precincts. Ang 25 percent sample na ito ay lampas nang pang-anim na ulit sa lahat ng presintong prinotesta ni Koko. Habang kumuha si Koko ng lamang na 257,000 votes sa kanyang 2,658 precincts ang nakuhang vote gain ni Migz pagkatapos mabilang ang kanyang 18,000 precincts ay kakarampot na 12,000 votes lamang. Batay dito ni hindi man lamang siya naka abot ng vote gain na isang boto sa bawat 18,000 precincts na pinabuksan niya. Kaya kung ipagpatuloy ang bilang sa natitirang 55,000 precincts na isinangkot ni Migz sa kanyang counter-protest aabot lamang sa 46,000 ang lahat ng boto na maaring mai-dagdag sa kay Migz. Hindi ito sapat upang malampasan ang 257,000 vote gain ni Koko Pimentel kaya kitang kit rito na ang totoong panalong senador noong 2007 elections ay si Koko Pimentel at hindi si Migz Zubiri. Si Migz ay isang pekeng Senador at wala siyang karapatang manatili sa puwesto ni isang guhit ng isang saglit.

Subalit ang nakakarindi, at nakakasuklam, na ginawa ng mga magigiting daw na Senador ng Bayan na kabilang sa SET, bomoto sila noong June 4 na ipagpatuloy ang Kontra-protesta ni Migz Zubiri sa kabila ng katibayan na hindi rin mahahabol ni Migz ang boto ni Koko. Tanging si Pia Cayetano lamang ang sumabay kay Justice Carpio at bumotong ibasura na ang Kontra-protesta ni Migz. Namulitika itong si Kiko Panglinan at nangi-ngilid nga at sinabing meron daw siyang separate opinion (na wala naman) agree din daw siya in part sa dissent ni Justice Carpio pero ang suma boto rin siya na ipagpatuloy ang kontra-protesta ni Migz. Di bale na yong mga ibang justice kasi mga tuta naman yon ni GMA at kasama sila as ‘conspirators’ sa na-unang pagdaya kay Koko noong 2007 pero we the people expected much more from the Senators of the Realm.

Ngayon, hindi rin maaring tumahimik na lamang si Prez Noynoy sa naglalatang na poot ng bayan sa isyung. Kala ba natin hindi ‘Business as Usual’. Bakit ganito ang nangyayari? Sapat ba na makuha ng partido Liberal ang liderato ng Senado kapalit ng ipinapaglabang prinsipyo ng paangulohan ni Noynoy. Kung sino man ang maluklok na Senate President sa kadahilanang nakuha niya ang boto ni Migz Zubiri na isang pekeng Senador dapat niyang malaman na ang tingin ng bayan sa kanya ay isa ring pekeng Senate President. Di bale nang hindi makuha ng mga ka-alyado ni Noynoy and pangulohan ng Senado kung ang kapalit nito ay ang pag-benta muli ng bagong tiwala ng Bayan sa kay Noynoy sa altar ng kalakalan ng tradisyonal na pamumulitika. Dapat ngayon pa lang ay magka-alaman na. Kasama ni Noynoy Aquino na tumakbo sa oposisyon si Koko Pimentel – ganoon din si Sonny Trillanes. Kung may mga maga-an at makakabusog pusong pananalita si Prez Noynoy para kay Trillanes bakit tahimik siya sa pagdusta at pagsikil sa dating kasama niyang si Koko Pimentel.

Habang ma-aga mabuti pang mag ka-alaman na. Pagsasabihan ba ni Prez Noynoy ang mag ka-alyado niyang Senador na dapat ipaglaban ang mag mithi-ing isinabukambibig niya noong nakara-ang eleksyon sa lahat ng bagay pati na sa laban sa pagka-pangulo ng Senado o tatahimik na lang siya at magpapatay malisya habang patuloy ang transaksyonal na pamumulitika ng mag ka-alyado niya sa Senado.

Mabuti nga habang ma-aga magkabistuhan na!

Kiko – patay kang bata ka! Hindi ka na a-angat pag hindi ka huminto sa pagka –oportunista mo. Mababatukan ka ng asawa mo! Kahit anong sabihin mo –mas guwapo sa iyo si Gabby Concepcion!

Angara – tatandaan namin ang ginawa mo! Tarantado!

Legarda – mabuti nga hindi ka nanalo.

Gordon – isa ka pa! Magsama na kayo ni Legarda!

Lapid – oke lang idol nai-intidihan ka namin, ingles kasi at napakahaba ng mayoryang opinion at wala ka yatang nakuhang translator.

Pia Cayetano – mabuhay ka. Kung ganyan ba naman kahit ilang Cayetano pa iboboto namin sa Senado.

Justice Carpio – talagang kayo ang karapatdapat na Supreme Court Justice. Hanga kami sa iyo.

Sa mga iba diyang hindi nabanggit – magbago na kayo - baka matawag kayong gago!

Alalahanin ninyo mahal ang bayad ng air-conditioned na kuwarto sa Impyerno!

Sa kay Koko Pimentel – para sa iyo ang mga katagang ito. Ipagpatuloy mo ang tunay na laban. Kahit ano paman – ikaw ang natatanging totoong Senador ng bayan.

Migz! Alis dyan!
.


Lu Tong Mancao



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Philippines’ image problem abroad

Ad Lib -- By Greg B. Macabenta


To say that the Philippines has "an image problem" abroad is an understatement. What we have is an image crisis. This has routinely been attributed to "unfair reporting" by the international media and "the endemic corruption" prevailing in our country. Thus, it is hoped that, with the Aquino presidency, the country now has "an opportunity to improve its image," subject only to "fair treatment" by media.

While this premise is partly correct, it is a rather simplistic viewpoint. The harsh fact is that, the best intentions of the new government and its most laudable acts will not necessarily be understood or appreciated overseas -- or even heard of. These things do not happen by accident.

The Philippines is seen through different prisms by its various external publics -- foreign governments, international organizations, businesses and prospective investors, human rights and other activist groups, foundations and funding institutions, the travel and tourism sector, the international media, and overseas Filipinos. These perceptions influence their attitude toward our country and the way they deal with us, including providing or withholding support.

In an environment where perception is often mistaken for reality, much of what these external publics think of the Philippines -- or think they know about our country -- is based on impressions gathered through the years, like plaque accumulating on unhealthy teeth.

The main sources of information are the diplomatic outposts and risk-assessment consultants, jaded investors, finicky foreign visitors, reports of the international press (including those of "parachute journalists"), satellite telecasts of GMA and ABS-CBN, and stories picked up from Manila media and recycled by overseas Filipino publications, plus the Internet and the social networks. All these serve to overwhelm the puny information efforts of the Philippine government.

Is it any surprise that what the overseas publics know about the Philippines ranges from unclear to unflattering? Even the most supportive of them, such as loyal overseas Filipinos, do not know enough about the Philippines.

It doesn’t help that Philippine government offices abroad lack materials and a central source of information, as well as the logistics for effective two-way communications with key publics.

Even in a premier post like the US, the information and communications function has been treated as a concurrent assignment by a consular officer in Washington DC and by the trade and tourism representatives in the consulates.

This was the case during the incumbency of Presidents Arroyo, Estrada, Ramos, and Cory Aquino. It would be unfortunate if this continues to be the case under P-Noy.

The Marcos government appreciated the importance of overseas information and communication but mishandled it anyway. While it had a Bureau of Foreign Information, its overseas staffers were drawn mainly from the Manila press -- people whose skills were in writing and reporting the news, rather than in Communications Management.

This was one reason why presidential brother-in-law and Philippine ambassador to Washington Kokoy Romualdez arranged to include heads of leading advertising and PR agencies in Manila (myself included) in the advance party for Marcos’s state visit to the US in 1982. Our job, we were told, was to field questions from the hostile US media. Romualdez did not think his information officers could handle them. Of course, at that point, neither could the advertising and PR specialists. No amount of deodorizing could cover up the stink in the Marcos dictatorship.

But what surprised us was the gross ignorance of many American journalists about the Philippines, beyond their familiarity with the horror stories. I don’t think that situation has improved to this day.

There should be no doubt that a positive perception of the new government and its policies and programs is urgently needed to attract investments and international aid, nurture foreign relations, and rally overseas Filipinos to the cause of the Motherland. This makes it imperative for P-Noy and his communications team to seriously consider setting up a competent overseas information and communications operation -- conceptually, a Bureau of Overseas Information and Communication -- to undertake the following:

  • Keeping the government’s various external publics properly, accurately, and continuously informed of policies, programs, and developments in the Philippines under the new government.
  • Securing accurate and continuing feedback from these publics to serve as basis for plans and policy formulation.
  • Developing and sustaining a positive image of the new government and, by extension, the Philippines and the Filipino people; in the process, helping gain support for the government’s socio-economic initiatives; and enhancing our country’s stature in the international community.
  • Managing the perceptions and attitudes of the various publics in the face of negative or sensitive developments affecting our country.

For starters, a comprehensive strategy document must be prepared, setting specific objectives, identifying key target publics, and providing implementation, monitoring and feedback details.

Secondly, two-way channels of communication have to be established with the various overseas publics, to ensure a constant and controlled flow of information and feedback. Emphasis on constant and controlled.

An absolute necessity is a credible and regularly updated database on the Philippines, provided to international media, overseas Filipino media, key offices of foreign governments and international bodies, and other sectors of influence (chambers of commerce, the academe, think tanks, foundations and funding institutions), to serve as reference for properly evaluating Philippine issues, concerns and opportunities.

Other key functions would be producing and maintaining proprietary information and communications vehicles, such as newsletters and periodicals, radio and TV programs and special reports, blogs and Web sites, etc.; coordinating Philippine government participation in international events and activities requiring the preparation and distribution of special information materials; and undertaking special information and communications operations to address critical issues and situations affecting the interests of the Philippine government. The last, of course, includes crisis PR.

Needless to say, the nature of this job will require a team of professionals who are skilled not only in journalism, editorial writing and press relations, but also in marketing and the corollary disciplines of advertising, promotions and public relations in its various aspects, including community relations. In other words, a team skilled in Communications Management.

I must admit that it was in a moment of patriotic fervor that I decided to write down these thoughts. I had just been to Manila to attend the inauguration of P-Noy and to speak at a conference of the Overseas Filipinos for Good Governance and, like the other delegates, I was gung ho for the old country.

I passed on the paper to some friends who have access to the new leadership, hoping that it would merit some attention. Unfortunately, no one has acknowledged receipt of it. I guess folks are too busy with more important matters.

That’s too bad, because, like it or not, the proper handling of overseas information and communication is an important matter, too. I just hope it won’t take a PR crisis for our new leaders to realize that.

gregmacabenta@hotmail.com
********************************************************************************

Emerito F. Salud - A lawyer from the Ateneo law School ' 73, a member of the NY Bar since 1994, a FILAM community activist, a radio-commentator of RadioPinoy USA, he is currently the Director for Advocacy of NaFFAA REgion 1. He is also a member of the NJ Chapter-Movement for Free Philippines, founded by the late Senator Raul Manglapus, and a founding member of Kaibigan Inc., based at the Port of Newark, NJ, a support group for Filipino merchant mariners (seamen).






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TITO DOC, a tribute to Eddie del Rosario

TITO DOC. EDUARDO. EDDIE. EDONG. Dr. Eduardo R. del Rosario. Call him by any of these names. He is a person who is totally warm, friendly, generous and trusting. From his first hello, Eddie lights up “whenever two or three are gathered.” He is there when laughter fills the air. His presence sings and zings.

Festive occasions see him leading sing-alongs with his baritone and a borrowed guitar. Eddie’s humor bounces back and forth, left and right, all-around. Eddie is lively and deep conversation.

Eddie is the boy scout to camp-outs under the stars. Eddie is the beloved, most welcome Tito Doc to all the boys and girls of the clan. “Tito Doc! Tito Doc!”, they chant his name as a hero. Enjoying esteem, respect and love across all sections of society, he proves that a person’s true value is what he is and not what he has.

Eddie is number eight in our family sound-off. Among ten diverse personalities where humor and goodwill are common threads, Eddie was an easy stand-out. Born handsome, happy and healthy, he spent babyhood much loved and thanked for. My parents thought they would have only one boy after six girls. Eddie came as a second boy in a family that welcomes children with joy and generosity.

God gave Eddie a lot of gifts: at birth and to grow up with. He has intelligence and a keen interest in many things, great and small.

My father died when Eddie was not yet seven. He died gifted with the countless joys of a child’s wonderful deeds. For Eddie and us, my father left a lifetime of virtues and ideals to hold. Most of all, he cloned his sense of humor and bestowed this on Eddie. This, along with his faith, defined Eddie as he grew up.

In youth, Eddie was a natural leader. Drawing a lot of friends, he was class president, student council head, team leader, cheerleader, school paper writer, exam paper checker and undisputed hero of his peer group. He was an easy choice to sing, dance, act or recite poems in school programs.

It seemed Eddie could rise to any occasion --- or was expected to. Often, he did not fail these expectations. If he remained easy to like and live with, it was because he was Eddie. And he had a mother and nine brothers and sisters to shoot down pride and prejudice. He was no sacred cow or fair-haired boy at home. He was one among ten. He shared equal billing with all the rest.

Eddie grew up caring a lot for others and he cultivated his talents in this direction. If he had an artistic side --- playing classics with his violin, a flair for drawing and writing, a face that can emote on stage --- he also had both of his feet firmly standing on the ground. He was both dreamer and a realist. He was going to be a doctor. He was going to serve mankind. He was single-minded about this.

At the threshold of youth and holding a high school diploma, he had the guts and glory for this career. We all wanted Eddie to be a doctor. We cheered him for his decision. But we had not money.

My mother’s income as a high school teacher provided food and little else. Eddie was number eight. The seven others ahead of him also had their ambition to finish college. My mother’s brother, Tio Sebio and his wife Tia Fanny, were childless so they pitched in and sacrificed for our large family. For keeping our family together, these three heroic adults have earned their medals.

To help our mother, Tio Sebio and Tia Fanny, it had become the unwritten law that the one who finished ahead and had a job, helped to put the others through college. We did just that --- with honor and courage, with love and devotion to one another. I think this beautiful family tradition largely fostered the lasting unity and fondness we have for one another.

For Eddie, it was my Kuya Nick, a practicing dentist who worked long hours by the dental chair to provide Eddie his school expenses.

The arrangement was: Boyet Pugeda, one of Eddie’s best friends, would split his full year tuition with him. Kuya Nick then worked for Eddie’s tuition for the second semester and paid off Boyet. Eddie got a deal for deferred payment from UST. Talk about creative financing. Tio Sebio and Tia Fanny paid for his board and lodging.

A medical course is no laughing matter even if Eddie has lots of it to give away. But Eddie had decided to be a doctor, whatever it takes. Whatever it takes? By April 1958, he carried a pre-med degree. He needed another six years to be a full-fledged doctor. About this time too, he realized that the dwindling family finances could not make him stay on course.

In a leap of courage, he approached the rector of the UST College of Medicine and applied for a scholarship. He got his scholarship: discounted fees for tuition and textbooks, free board and lodging. He moved into the Dominican convent as a famulo and assistant infirmarian. He worked the different jobs asked of him.

With his friend Tony Garcia, he served lunch and dinner in the refectory every day. They served three Masses in the priests’ chapel every day. On Sunday, they served six Masses.

He took care of sick priests in the infirmary, which included sponging and cleaning them, giving them their medicines, even cutting their nails. It took great humility and, yes, a sense of humor, to take all these just to be a doctor.

For nearly four years, Eddie lived within the convent walls and already served like a doctor while trying to be a real doctor. He had plenty of practice. He passed with flying colors, both for himself and those he served, who grew to like him a lot. This was the other diploma he got upon graduation. Not gilded like the seal on the diploma for which he marched in formal toga in April 1964, but so much more meaningful, this other diploma armed him for the life of service that waited ahead.

With fellow graduates Bobby and Ludee del Rosario, he set up a modest clinic in the Ermita district. The clinic was close to the Malate apartment of my early married days. His patients included the children and family members of nightclub hostesses (mostly from the Bayside Club), as well as musicians, waiters, maintenance workers and janitors. Eddie was both doctor and counseling friend to them. He had the mettle to do well in both. The call of Vietnam and Operation Brotherhood ended this episode. But that is another story.

From his Ermita clinic, Eddie would often visit us often and join us for meals. He always ate with gusto. Marrying Belay, a Pampangueña whose family cooked well, made Eddie even more happy. As brother and sister, we were very close and open to each other’s needs. We shared family ideals. Even then, I admired Eddie’s preferential option for the poor. “This doctor will never become rich,” I said then. The words were not a prophecy, but they are true to this day.

At that time too, Rolly and I had become involved in the Christian Family Movement. Fr. Sean Connaughton, our chaplain, who also served as chaplain to the Christian Youth Movement, had asked our help for one of his boys. Roger was an art framer and wanted a break. We had a small store space in the corner-lot apartment which we were renting. We had a rainy days saving of two thousand pesos. We put this and Roger together. We had a business partnership.

Roger had hardly begun putting the partnership to work when Eddie noticed that he looked pale and bent even in his youth. Sure enough, Eddie found out that he had active TB. To protect us and Roger himself, he came every day and injected Roger with streptomycin till he was cured. We gave all the earnings of the fledgling business to Roger. Eddie saved Roger’s life and his future for a song.

In later years, Roger became very prosperous, both in health and material wealth. Eddie caught him at the right time, giving not only medicine but care, unwavering care. His Malate-Ermita practice was preparing him for larger horizons of service.

In Vietnam, he saw the ugly face of war and cried at his ugliness. He became the best-known scrounger of medical supplies for the Xuan Hoc Hospital in Long Khan province. He sought out displaced and battered lives in Chien Hoi prison camps, in orphanages, in hospitals. He looked into his patients’ eyes and gave them hope amid pounding mortar fire.

Because he had warmth, he gave warmth. Because he had faith, he gave faith. He helped cure body and soul, transcending colors, because all colors are beautiful in the eyes of God. Eddie was at his best when asked to give his all. Vietnam caught him at the height of his ideals.

Eddie stayed through the days and the nights of war. There was no time for fear. Through hamlets and villages, he and his fellow doctors and the support personnel of Operation World Freedom moved on, serving the suffering. Most cases were emergency. Quick judgments had to be accomplished by quick hands. Everything was a mad rush against death.

Eddie poignantly recalls a young victim of the Tet offensive. Deceived in the seemingly normal events before the Tet celebrations, the US military forces were caught unprepared for the horrors of the massacre. Days before, a lot of burials were happening. Inside those coffins were arms being brought into the city for the communist assault. The New Year celebration would provide perfect foil. With the sound of firecrackers ushering in the New Year came those of guns and rifles --- and death. This young boy was an early victim of gunfire.

There was no time to lose. Eddie cradled the boy in his arms. He laid the crying wounded boy on the operating table. Quickly he and a team of doctors worked to amputate the dangling leg of the boy. Eddie was crying all the while, seeing how the innocent suffer the evils of war. Both father and doctor in him was in pain. He never forgot the face of that boy and the memory of that night of terror.

From Vietnam and back again for a second stint, Eddie continued to help tirelessly: flood victims, earthquake victims, air crash victims, social justice victims, TB victims, human rights victims, drug abuse victims, sexually violated victims and today, persons with physical and mental disabilities.

This otherness has brought Eddie from Southeast Asia to the cold, perennial winter of remote Alaskan villages, administering public health services. At this time, he already had earned a master’s degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins University, again on scholarship.

He fostered understanding, friendship, humanity, and other common denominators of love. God has shaped Eddie’s very person for precisely this kind of work. And being in this kind of work, material well being or excess became a far, far second in his life.

His wealth is respect and good will from him to mankind and to him from mankind. Thus, people naturally gravitate to him, especially children. Eddie charms because he exudes so much cheerfulness. He lights up a place with his presence.

Eddie is also a good son. On a visit to our sick mother some years ago, he saw her suffering and immobile from a bad fall. He scooped her lovingly into my brother’s van, sped her to Manila and had her broken bone mended by surgery. This comforted my mother very much. She felt well quickly, more because of Eddie than the surgeon’s skill. Although he lived (and lives) in Guam, he was more accessible to her than some of us.

When my mother’s eyesight failed from bilateral cataract, we felt terrible when we saw her groping her way. Again, like lightning, Eddie contacted one of the best eye doctors of the country. Every weekend for many weekends (six in all), he flew in from Guam to assure my mother of his presence as she went through the required operations, which were successful. My mother was able to read again.

Socially, Eddie is a hit. He could have run and easily won a seat as Guam senator if he had the money. He writes and contributes features in both Guam and our local papers. He acts on stage and was Temyong in “Walang Sugat” in a Philippine Freedom Alay Gala in Guam. At 58, he can dance a mean boogie.

Eddie today has mellowed, but deepened in his commitment to God’s majority, especially in the field of human rights abuses in the sweatshops and entertainment business.

Now I realize why God made Eddie so likeable a person. His vocation is to serve, to serve the poor in body and spirit. Eddie goes on his way, poor in material thing, but very rich in spirit. People have given him awards and accolades, some awarded in Malacañang Palace. People are grateful for all his good deeds.

Eddie’s lifetime reward is the everyday, unquantifiable blessing of a peaceful and happy heart seen in his ever-smiling face. Eddie will die serving.

Call him Tito Doc. Eddie. Edong. Eduardo. Call him by any of these names. When he answers with a warm “Hello!”, he means, “I am here for you.”

 By Poy R. Pantaleon
Sent via email by Dr. Rachel "Chee" Garcia
___________________________________________
SOURCE:  Heartsong: A Selection of Writings from The Joy of Writing Workshops 1998
Edited by Monina Allrey Mercado
Published by Arts Unlimited and Friends in Art (1998)

This is a collection of familiar essays.  Long and short, they were written as exercises in a writing workshop, called “The Joy of Writing.”  Written from the heart as heartsong, these essays speak of persons well-loved and things familiar, of spouses and songs and daughters, of parents and friends, of talents and skills, of memories, of joy and pain, of beliefs and commitment, of faith and prayer.

The writers are mature women, most of them married.  They look around them and within themselves to document and reflect on what had made them into the persons they are and what had touched their hearts.  Primed by writing in their daily journals, they bring to their essays their essential honesty and simplicity.

Included in this collection are some haiku verses.  These were inspired by the gist of the writing workshop which is to use short simple words while writing from the heart.

The essays and poems in this book were written in 1998 by the women who took part in any one of the three writing workshops which took place from April to November in Makati, Alabang and Los Baños.


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