A dynasty in heaven

Both the parents of St. Therese, often referred to as The Little Flower, have been canonized by Pope Francis. Louis and Zelie Martin, may now be called St. Louis and St. Zelie in their own right. It is certainly perceptive of the Holy Father to recognize how this couple had raised their daughter and willingly gave her up when she wanted to become a nun in her teenage years. For them, it was not a sacrifice, it was complete obedience to the will of God.

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But aside from rearing a child who would later lead a holy life and became a saint of the Church, the couple themselves led exemplary lives and were models for their children, five of whom became nuns. Theirs was also a very religious family who lived their lives devoted to their faith. No wonder, they, too, were considered qualified to be elevated to sainthood themselves. And, who knows, one or more of their other religious daughters may also be candidates for sainthood later. Theirs was indeed holy family, so we cannot say that they are starting a dynasty in heaven.

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More and more disqualification cases are cropping up against the candidacy of Senator Grace Poe Llamanzares, and one can only wonder how these will affect the ongoing probe into the case. A lady lawyer, Estrella Elamparo, has questioned Poe's citizenship and residency. Yesterday, I got a message that former Senator and press secretary Francisco Kit Tatad has also filed a case questioning the claims that she is a natural-born Filipino. Maybe this is among the reasons why Senator Miriam Santiago has decided to take her chance at the presidency again? She knows she is popular with the youth, who are now among the backers of Poe. Is it true, though, that Poe's husband and children are still U.S. citizens?

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Another one. Taboy Servando's advocacy has barely started and here we are, reading more about victims of the savage practice of hazing by fraternities, not only in Manila, but even in other provinces and cities. Last Saturday, an agricultural student of the University of Southern Mindanao died after the initiation rites, allegedly of the Triskelion Fraternity. Bobong Buluan collapsed after getting back to his boardinghouse and was declared dead on arrival when rushed to a hospital. What more can we say about the effectiveness of all those measures against hazing that we have been hearing about everytime a similar incident happens? And what about those that do not get into the news because they happen in distant areas?

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About three years ago, at the height of his wealth and popularity, complaints were aired by indignant parents to the Department of Social Welfare and Development against TV personality Willie Revillame for showing on his program a 6-year-old boy who was made to perform like a macho dancer or male stripper. Because of the complaints, the DSWD filed charges against him, but even when the lower court acted on the case, somehow it didn't progress until it got to the Court of Appeals which has now issued a warrant of arrest against him. It will be interesting to see how he will wiggle out of this one.

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It was very heartening to know about the success of several of our local boxers in their bouts abroad. Negrense Donnie Nietes made short work of his Mexican foe, the 13 th from that country he had defeated. Other boxers also did well, beating their opponents and further underscoring the prowess of Pinoy pugilists worldwide. But alas, one of our best bets, Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria, did not succeed in putting down Roman Gonzales of Nicaragua. The boys played at different venues, but their victories elated their fans back home.

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Meanwhile, I am very disappointed with our Chief of Police for the way he responded to complaints about jeepneys not turning on their lights while passing Araneta Street at night. Seems he was merely passing the buck to the Land Transportation Office, as if he and his office have nothing to do with protecting the lives of Bacolod residents in that area. He claims it is only the LTO that can apprehend drivers. We are not asking him to arrest them, only to check and, perhaps, remind those violating rules. If they cannot, or will not call the attention of such drivers, couldn't they, at least, take down their license, plate numbers and other circumstances, and refer them to the LTO that has required the posting of their phone numbers on such vehicles? Several of our readers actually laughed at the kind of ACTING police chief we have. Who can blame them?*

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