In the name of sports

It was good to hear that the International Boxing Federation has acted on the ring riot in Argentina when friends of boxer Luis Alberto Lazarte ran amuck when Filipino Jonreil Casimero beat their man by sending him to the canvass twice in the first few rounds and then knocked him out in the tenth. The referee had not yet announced the winner – which was already obvious – when the mob began throwing things at the Filipinos there, including the coach and team members of Casimero.

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What happened could not be denied either by Lazarte or his fans because TV footages clearly showed how they threw bottles and other items, including chairs into the ring, injuring Casimero’s companions. The Pinoy boxer himself only escaped serious injuries because some concerned people hid him under the ring. It was reported later that most of those who were involved in the riot were members of a truckers union, to which Lazarte also belonged. Anyway, reports now say that the IBF has banned Lazarte from future international fights. Until when, I wasn’t able to verify.

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Isn’t it ironical that sports events that are supposed to develop the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play in people, starting with the youth, often become scenes of bloody and dangerous fights, so much so that some have coined terms like “basketbrawl” and “footbrawl”? It was also an alleged incident of “basketbrawl” that had erupted during a basket ball game at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City. A murder convict, who was just watching the game when rival gangs got into a fight, died from stab wounds and severe bruises.

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And at the Quezon City jail, a fight between inmates belonging to rival gangs led to a free-for-all where one of them attempted to stab another, who hit back with a thick piece of wood. The one who was hit died before reaching the hospital. Now, one wonders how come those inmates had weapons they could use to stab each other. Aren’t they supposed to be inspected, with their personal items turned inside out, regularly? So why did the stabbings take place? They couldn’t have stabbed each other with their fingers, could they?

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But those incidents were not as bad as what happened in Honduras the other day where a big fire broke out in an overcrowded prison and either burned or suffocated to death some 350 inmates. One couldn’t just imagine the scene in that prison, said to hold double its capacity, where prisoners were securely locked in their cells and could not flee as the fire crept into their quarters. Up to the time reports came out on the wire agencies, it had not yet been determined what had caused the fire. The usual “short circuit” was suspected, but some claim it was intentionally set. Many of the inmates were said to be in jail for drugs. The poor guys seem to have been prematurely executed.

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This is indeed a generation that has seen the fall of so many powerful world leaders, some of them for their repressive and dictatorial rule, others for graft and corruption, or plain dishonesty. Of course the Philippines is in tune with this world aspect. We also have presidents and even high court justices on the carpet. The difference is that, in most of those countries, the unpopular leaders resigned, showing a bit of delicadeza, while here, they stick it out even bragging that they will fight the charges against them to the death.

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The latest to give up is the president of Germany, Christian Wulff, who is reportedly embroiled in political scandals. A former president of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi is also facing a possible five-year prison term for bribery. But their fate is better than those of Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Moammar Gadhafi of Libya who came to gruesome ends. So far, we do not know yet what awaits the head of Syria, whose people are chafing against his rule.

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Meanwhile, the Philippines is beginning to look like a watery country with floods continuing to sweep through its many islands all year round now. As of last night, floods were reported in Santa Maria, Davao del Sur, Carmen in Agusan del Norte, Kauswagan in Davao del Norte, and in six towns in Leyte. No wonder PHIVOLCS continues to issue warnings against floods and landslides that may hit parts of the country. The worst, however, are earthquakes, because they cannot be predicted, and we can only hope to be spared them by praying constantly.*

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