Iggy’s remains row settled

The row over the remains of Rep. Iggy Arroyo (5th District) has been partly solved with the agreement between the two “wives” of the dead solon.

It was agreed according to the lawyers of both camps, that Aleli Arroyo and Grace Ibuna, the latter claiming that Aleli never was the married wife of Iggy, seems to have agreed that his remains will be brought to his ancestral home in Quezon City and later to be buried beside his mother’s remains in their family mausoleum.

Well, that finishes the stand-off between Aleli and Grace which had prevented the earlier repatriation of the remains of Iggy.

Iggy died 27 days ago in London hospital and his remains had been held in a London mortuary pending the decision of the UK court on whom to turn over his remains.

Lawyer Lorna Kapunan denied that her client (Aleli) had anything to do with the report that Grace had originally wanted Iggy’s remains to be cremated, pointing out that it was the solicitor of the mortuary that had relayed to them the alleged last wish of the deceased solon.

Apparently, it was also agreed that Iggy’s remains will be brought to Negros Occidental’s Fifth District which he had served for two terms, for the local residents to pay him a final tribute.

At least, the House will have the opportunity to give him the honors due a member of the chamber.

A TV anchor yesterday quipped that the best course is “to marry only one wife.” But Grace’s assertion that Aleli was never legally married to Iggy may presage and prolonged fight over the issue of his wealth and possessions. According to the last report by Senator Lacson, that amounts to about P2.3 billion.

Who gets what will come a long time later with both camps ready to skirmish in a protracted law-suit.

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Yesterday, Ash Wednesday reminded us that the 40-day Lenten Season started with fasting and abstinence, and alms giving.

The rite of the ashes is a reminder to the faithful of the call to repentance. Although it is no longer the principal message of Ash Wednesday, still that adage remains indelibly imprinted in the minds of all of us.

Actually, the Lenten Season is a call for us to change our lives to Christian living. In short, as Christians, we should have the ashes imprinted on our foreheads to remind us that we supposed to convert, i.e. change our life from focusing on materialism, hedonism, and selfishness. Instead, the Lord asks us to change our focus to God and to do His will.

Thus, prayer, alms giving, fasting, and love are the call of the hour for us to follow so that we can become children of God who sent us His only Son to liberate us from sin and the devil.

***

Yesterday I got a copy of the letter from Assistant Asryman T. Rafanan to Ms. Sarah Teresa Esguerra detailing the state of several cases criminal and administrative charges filed against City Mayor Evelio Leonardia and the city officials.

It showed that some cases are still up for resolution. Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol for the Visayas also said they have received several required position papers and counter-affidavits from Dr. Roget Balo, Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and others.

Some of the cases are still awaiting resolution from the Ombudsman.

It is pertinent to remember that these replies were embodied in the response to the letter of Ms. Sarah Esguerra, who filed most of them, to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.

In short, we still have to wait for sometime before the final resolution of these remaining cases against Bing and other city officials.

C’est la vie.

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Light materials of the 21 houses were the feature of the 21 houses of Barangay Bantayan damaged Monday afternoon in Kabankalan City.

Very rarely does a major tornado sweep through Negros Occidental. These are usually only localized to a small area unlike tornadoes in other areas such as the United States and Middle East.

Although it was 55 kilometers away from the city proper, City Mayor Isidro Zayco promptly visited the site Monday afternoon and immediately offered assistance to the affected homeowners.

Luckily, the twister did not kill anybody nor injured any residents.

Lucky, Mayor Zayco.

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The relics of St. Clare of Assisi arrived yesterday in Manila. It immediately remind me of our last visit in Italy to the church were her relics have been kept.

At the time, I was with my late wife, Dr. Lourdes L. Espina, Drs. Norma Legislador and Nena Paglinawan in the company of Fr. Ree Paglinawan, OR, then the third highest official of the Augistinian Recollect Fathers worldwide.

The church was not imposing. But we felt immediately an electric spiritual upon entering.

There were several groups of faithful also on pilgrimage. And we immediately found ourselves impelled to pray to St. Clare to help us. We had earlier visited the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. This was demolished later by a strong earthquake.

St. Clare, pray for us.*

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