FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 06, 2021


4 OPINION EDITORIAL


the forthcoming arrival of vaccines in Negros Oriental and in the entire country.


There’s already a lot of hype over


Vaccines and Tourism


The government has been talking about vaccinations


every opportunity. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque even came over to say the vaccines are arriving very soon, although Negros Oriental is not in the


government’s property areas for the vaccine because, he said, it has been doing a good job in handling COVID 19.


at national


Now, everyone is talking about whether they will have themselves vaccinated or not. Some people say they will wait and see if the vaccine does not have adverse effects before deciding to have it themselves. Admittedly, there’s still a lot of fear about getting a vaccine, thanks to the government lawyer who made a big stink about the vaccine for dengue fever which she said caused several deaths among children.


But the lack of a vaccine has not stopped the Department of Tourism from trying to spur the interest tourism


in


has been trying to reduce the cost of getting a swab test. These tests, which used to cost more than P10,000 in some testing centers, can be had in some government facilities for less than P500. This, the tourism secretary said, would be most helpful for those who travel as a family.


Tourism Secretary Berna Puyat 8


The tourism secretary’s visit came shortly after the Provincial Government reopened the diving industry, its main tourist drawer, for Negros Oriental. We will soon see a resurgence of local tourism, regardless of whether the vaccine will come or not. Here’s wishing our officials success in getting people to accept the vaccine and in its efforts to revive the ailing tourism industry.


promoting domestic public’s


METROPOST


ATTY. WHELMA SITON-YAP ECON 101 whelmayap@yahoo.com T


he Province of Negros Oriental should take a bow! The truth prevailed, as the votes counted for Robredo established that she really won by a landslide in this province.


29,2016, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos filed a Protest in a 1,000 page Petition with asking the Supreme Court (SC) sitting as PET to set aside Robredo’s proclamation as vice president. Marcos urges the PET to declare him as the Philippines’ duly elected and rightful vice president. According to him, the votes for Robredo were “products of electoral frauds, anomalies, and irregularities, seeking


vote recount in Camarines Sur, the home province of Robredo, and in Iloilo and


a Recall that on June


Negros Oriental, where the Vice President posted landslide wins. Marcos had to pay the filing fees , in the total of P66.2-million to retrieve election materials for his election protest against Robredo.


16 February 2021, the Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal unanimously


dismissed the electoral protest filed by former Senator Bongbong Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo. After almost five years, Robredo describes that the decision was a big sigh of relief for her and the whole staff . Robredo’s legal team led by election lawyer Romulo Macalintal. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque


PONCIANO LIGUTOM BOW & ARROW pligutom@yahoo.com


Member, Philippine Press Institute


ALEX REY V. PAL Publisher & Editor-in-Chief (On-leave) IRMA FAITH B. PAL Managing Editor


JOEL V. PAL Online News/North America Editor RICHLI D. AVES Cartoonist


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L


ast week, I shared my personal encounter with the government’s work of empowerment among the marginalized, the deprived and underprivileged members of our society. What is empowerment? Can it be equated with development? They cannot be completely the same, but are very similar. Empowerment


we are called marginalized, grassroots, deprived and underprivileged. Others would also call us destitute and impoverished. There is so much improvement in the vocabulary in the labeling of our situation.“ My work brought me to the center of Catholicism in Europe and the cradle of Islam in the world, the Middle East.


Most workers are empowered as the environment itself is empowering. Many Italian employers are seemingly afraid of the workers.


Many male OFWs in Europe belong to a known and famous brotherhood which started as a crime buster squad in Mindanao. This is a big organization in Italy with many chapters. Ironically,


Fast forward, on


said Malacañang respected the PET’s decision but it won’t change how Mr. Duterte would treat the Vice President. He said he believed Mr. Duterte’s preference for Marcos remained. This is how democracy works, and in an unexpected Supreme Court “rare unanimity”, It is the exemplification of DUE


Salute to VP Leni Robredo


PROCESS, as the rule of law prevailed. This is an important step towards healing our divided nation, to face the challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic. The development heralds the dawn of economic recovery, as the nation moves on to another national election in 2022. The SC ruling not only removes political uncertainty, but also affirms


the validity and credibility of our electoral process. Free and fair elections are declared the necessary condition and foundation of democracy. From election results, political systems and their institutions of government are constituted, the legitimacy of political elites and leadership are established. However, recently perceived public images as well as personalities and charisma of political leaders, particularly their appearances in media especially in the times of crises and instability, and conside ring the influence of (electronic) media and advertising clips, the public image and charisma of political leaders, candidates and parties, their simplified and often stereotypical slogans of populist policies, might seem the most successful strategies to attract voters, including the undecided ones that might outweigh the importance of substance based and more complex political programs and policies. GOOD LUCK TO CANDIDATES IN 2022!


one Chaplaincy and are shepherded by a priest, Father Nonoy Gente of Sibugay, Zamboanga. The chaplaincy has 63 chapel communities grouped into five clusters, led by their respective chapel presidents or coordinators with their spiritual Director Priest. Attendance in church is


also characterized by regional groupings. I usually attended mass with the “Bisdak” group officiated by a Boholano priest with Yoyoy Villame’s sense of humor and even served once as the guitarist.


This is a very big picture of Unity in Diversity. For Simbang Gabi, Filipinos from many parts of Italy united as


Dilemma: Empowering the Powerless Part 2


covers the whole gamut of human existence: social, political, economic , cultural and spiritual. It is holistic and “centrumized”, i.e., complete from A to Z.


beneficiary of the government’s “Pantawid ” program, who belongs to an Indigenous group. He was asked if he noticed an improvement in his life after long years of living in poverty. He answered,“Yes, because before we were just tagged ordinarily as poor. Now,


There is a story about a


I experienced the life of an Overseas Filipino Worker and the issues related to empowerment. They are very much alive. In Italy, the OFWs are highly empowered. Within a period of six months in 2016, our OFWs held two rallies in front of the Philippine Embassy in Rome to question the relevance of the Embassy in responding to the concerns of the OFWs, especially after the powerful earthquake that jolted Italy in that year.


this organization has the most number of chapters in Italy as there are leaders, which somewhat lessened the OFW’s collective power.


the Embassy were heard but not by the public. The power that catapulted them to prominence is the same power that broke them apart and reduced their influence in the community. The leaders of the various factions could not even sit together to hold a meeting. The OFWs in Rome have


Their complaints against


believers of Christ in one mass. But after the mass, the OFWs grouped themselves along regionalistic lines, and brought out their best dishes. As Labor Attache, I was able to sample the various dishes by moving from one group of OFWs to the other. But as for OFWs in the Middle East, this is another story. They seem powerless. Despite the presence of progressive groups, many are unable to protect themselves


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