The VP reacts to Twinkling

Well, well! So the Honorable Vice President does read the DAILYT STAR, and has even reacted to our column of October 17. But one thing struck me about the letter of VP Jejomar Binay: not even the vice president is spared by the delivery rate of the country’s snail mail. He wrote the letter on October 17, it was posted at the Philtrade post office on November 11 and was received in Bacolod November 18 and got to the DAILY STAR November 20. The vice president was reacting to the column titled “Let all the dirt come out”. Anyway, we are publishing it in this issue, en toto, for our interested readers to see – and judge.

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As for the length of time it took for the VP’s letter to reach the STAR, nobody seems to mind such inefficiency nowadays because of the latest technology where one can reach one’s addressees in a matter of seconds. The very first time my sister and I went to the United States, we were really amazed at the speed in which their post offices deliver mail. After our nephew, Sonny Ramos, had dropped us off in Los Angeles after a trip to Las Vegas we remembered that a package of toys we had bought for pasalubongs to our nieces and nephews, had been left in his car. Sonny lives in Alhambra, and when we called and told him about the package, he told us not to worry, he’d mail it immediately. We didn’t think it would be any use since we were leaving for San Francisco the next afternoon, but would you believe? The package arrive about noon the next day! When is the Philippine postal service ever going to work that way?

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Not only did Boy (real name Manuel) Mejorada managed to get on the front pages of national dailies, he also got a very rare, well, “distinction” does not seem fit, let’s just say “notice” from Ilonggos for his declarations before the Senate where he accused the fair-haired boy of the province, Senate President Franklin Drilon. But Boy did not only attack Drilon, he also gave Iloilo City an ugly tag, which led the Sangguniang Panlungsod to declare him “persona non grata”. As I know him – we used to write for the Business Day newspaper and later Business World – Boy will not be at a loss for words to describe those who maligned him.

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But the blockbuster news yesterday was the conviction of the people found responsible for the horrible fire at the Ozone Disco in Manila on March 18, 1996 where 162 died, most of them newly graduated high school students, celebrating their graduation. The verdict meted to nine persons who included seven city engineers, was reportedly up to 10 years. That is for a crime committed 18 years ago. The added tragedy for the families of the victims is that none of the convicted ones can be accounted for, as they must have, either died, or have left the country. Those convicted were meted the sentences because the building they supposed to have inspected, did not have the required safety precautions. Let’s hope all government engineers take note of this.

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That was awful news, about the Miss Honduras representative of her country to the Miss World contest next month, being shot, killed, and buried rashly together with her sister near a river. They were killed, apparently because of the jealousy of the sister’s boyfriend. What was the Miss World bet doing in such company when she was supposed to be priming for the contest already? I really thought that those girls become public property when they are chosen to represent their country and virtually kept under lock and key while preparing for the international contest. In other words, they, too, should be quarantined.

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Music lovers in Dumaguete will be treated today to what Bacoleños and Negrenses enjoyed Wednesday when pianist Christine Coyiuto and the Metro Manila Concert Orhestra, under the baton (I didn’t see any) of Josefino Chino Toledo, regale them with what they treated us to at the Sanctuario de La Salle. The mastery and artistry of the two really kept their audience in a spell. Toledo, with his perfect control of his orchestra that was composed mostly of very young musicians, enthralled his listeners, especially with their rendition of the Pambansang Awit that Dr. Rudy Patiño swore he would have shelled out double the price of the tickets to hear again.

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And Christine! This is not the first time we have heard her, and she seems to get better and better with her surprisingly casual approach, showing none of the tension and audience-consciousness so often associated with virtual geniuses like her. Ah, and how she seemed to thoroughly enjoy what she was doing, even when dealing with the sometimes somber, sometimes light and often bombastic moments of Gershwin. One could see none of the intense concentration other artists affect. In fact she could even smile while grappling with the intricacies of the pieces she played. After the rousing standing ovation and the encore she obliged her fans, I went up to her, held her hands and asked: How many fingers do you have? It didn’t sound as if you have only ten like the rest of us! How she laughed at that. Her proud hubby James, he with the exemplary PR, all the while tried to look as if it was all just in the day’s work though we know how proud he was of his talented spouse.*

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