Ombion: Ceasefire, Ceasetalks

IT’S a welcome relief that the government declared unilateral ceasefire during Christmas season. The National Democratic Front (NDF) Mindanao also declared ceasefire but stressed that its forces will keep its right to defensive actions against any provocative offensives by the state armed forces.

To be honest about it, I am always for ceasefire, especially during Christmas and other important national events. It gives the state forces and the armed insurgents a respite to celebrate Christmas in their unique ways and attend to their other important concerns.

Sanchez: Fallacies

I’M SICK and tired of the RH issue. Not because of the debate -- I relish a clash of ideas that would help clear the air of the core issues. When, however, a conflict of ideas resort to non-issues of character assassinations, innuendoes and non sequiturs, the conversation simply gets muddled.

From the pro-RH side, they ridicule the antis as people who live in the Medieval (or Dark) Ages to the point of being ahistorical, calling the antis as “Damasos,” as if the country is still under the Spanish frailes.

Pacete: Naughty Christmas Card

LAST week, I received a personalized Christmas card from my ex-girlfriend. Probably, she just remembered that I was a reluctant suitor before. Many things could have been done but were not. Life has changed a lot after several years.

Sending a love note before was hard. You had to stir your emotion just to come up with love phrases or a poem based on kinds of poetry -- or come up with a literary style taught by your school paper adviser. That could be funny because you got to check and recheck the spelling of words. Your simple sentence should follow a correct diagram pattern based on your English textbook.

Honeyman: Judges behaving badly

EARLY this year, much senatorial time was consumed with the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona. We were impressed by the conscientiousness of our elected representatives whose attention to the not-always riveting evidence was exemplary.

Editorial: Sun.Star Bacolod - Your partner in community building

"SUN.STAR Bacolod powers us into the future: Your partner in community-building."

Thus goes our theme for the fourth anniversary of Sun.Star Bacolod under its new management.

Pacete: Touching Negrenses

CONGRATULATIONS, Sun.Star Bacolod, on your fourth anniversary! We salute the men and women running the firm. You are simply great. You deserve a toast. Cheers! Mabuhay!

Sun.Star Bacolod is not just a newspaper. It has the soul of Negros. It carries the wishes, hopes, aspirations and sentiments of the Negrosanons. The newspaper is a breakfast partner. Before we start our day, we have the pulse of our society, economy, tourism, sports, business and politics. Our journalists give us the what, where, when, why and the how of the day. We know who is coming in, who is going out, what is coming up, what is coming down... and what should be our role.

Helmetless

THIS is perhaps the umpteenth time I wrote about this, yet this type of accident recurs over and over.

It goes in one ear, out the other ear. Otherwise Nikki Pacantang and Romeo Cuba of St. Vincent, Alijis, Bacolod City would still be alive today. At past midnight this week, Pacantang drove his motorcycle with Cuba as his passenger and accidentally hit the gutter along Alijis Road.

Legaspi: Right human rights?

SENATOR Diokno once wrote, “Human rights are essential to man’s existence. You take them out and you will no longer have man.”

Letter to the Editor: God diverted the super storm from us

THE super storm was forecast to hit the belly of Negros Occidental and Panay, straight to the rest of the Visayan provinces. A lot of damages could have been done to agricultural crops like sugarcane, rice and other crops, not counting the loss of lives. But God diverted “Pablo” westward, an unusual route, answering the prayers of His children.

My personal prayer is simple and had always been effective: “Lord, you parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could pass on dry land. Please use a minimum of such power to divert this storm in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, thru the Holy Spirit!”

Sanchez: 7.1% growth and peso appreciation

THE past week saw our currency appreciate to $1:P40. Banks and the forex changers in downtown predict that. This Christmas season, the peso will appreciate much more, almost at par with the exchange rate before the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Pacete: When sidewalk vendors rule

I WAS invited by a new American friend, Brian Carter (not related to USA Pres. Jimmy Carter), to a coffee chat in a mall. He was telling me that two airline companies serving Bacolod (Silay) Airport are now just having their trips in Iloilo. He was complaining also that the fast crafts plying Bacolod-Iloilo (vice-versa) have not-so-clean-toilets. “It is not fun!”

Legaspi: How to be?

THE second Sunday of Advent had already passed. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is done. The feast of Our lady of Guadalupe will be on December 12 and after these great events, we will face one of the most-awaited seasons of the Catholic Church—the Christmas Season.

Pacete: Silay City Christmas Village

THE Department of Tourism and the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) awarded Silay City Christmas Village as ‘Pearl First Runner-Up’ in the ‘Search for Most Outstanding Cultural Activity of the Philippines 2012.’

Jimenez: PNoy is helpless with kotong cops

JUST the mere continued presence of kotong cops in Metro Manila is a simple proof that the national leadership could not actually lower the incidents of corruption within the police and those in the traffic.

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Honeyman: Good news!

THIS year's Transparency International's (TI) League Table, which shows the corruption prevention index (CPI) for nearly every country, indicates that the Philippines has improved from 129th in 2011 to 105th now.

This is a substantial development. It means that there are 24 countries which were deemed to be less corrupt than the Philippines in 2011 are now perceived to be more corrupt. Included in these 24 countries are Indonesia and Vietnam. This means, I believe, that the Philippines will be treated with more respect in ASEAN and also the international community generally.

Hagad: Why is China behaving like a bully?

THE question has been asked by media and political observers, noting the apparently-uncharacteristic behaviour of China against its Asian and Asean neighbours Japan, India, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, all of whom have claims over portions of areas surrounded by the China Sea. Uncharacteristic? A closer look at the geographic and political background of China indicates that the behaviour may actually be true-to-form.

Sanchez: The Church and climate change

WE KNOW that super typhoons such as Typhoon Pablo can be blamed on climate change, right? I thought that was a pretty straightforward rejoinder to climate change deniers.

I was wrong. Christine Herrera of Manila Standard Today quoted Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo's quip, "I don't know if that's a coincidence or if God has a message for us that, if we discuss this (RH bill), much suffering will be brought down upon us."

Sánchez: Aware, beware

NOTHING brings home the lessons through experiences and empathy for the plight of other Filipinos who suffered these typhoons’ battering of our sacred shores. (Although strictly speaking, habagat, or the Southwest Monsoon, is not even a formal typhoon and has no official name.)

In the case of Pablo, we have several pieces of good news and bad news. The good news, at least from the Negros Occidental side, is that Pablo proved to be a wimp. It failed to even produce heavy rains.

Yulo: Blaming others instead of ourselves is easier

I’VE read the book on “Titanic” several times and a lot of chaff are separated from the grain. Our Jesuit scholastic teacher in the ’50s was telling us that the owner of the biggest pleasure ship of all time put up a sign on the ship “Even God cannot sink.”

Common sense will tell us even at a slim chance that he was an atheist as only an idiot will put up that sign knowing that most of the travelers are God-believing. But we students swallowed what he told us hook, line and sinker.

Ibid., loc. cit., and op. cit.

In high school, we were introduced to the rudiments of “term paper” writing by our late English professor, Sir Manuel Pabellon. In the course of our study, Sir Pabs emphasized the importance of acknowledging one’s source, i.e., the author of the book or article from where one quoted a line or two. In college, we were further honed in this literary requirement by our BCM teachers like the late Mrs. Dolores Martir, Mrs. Amoloria, Mrs. Nava, Mrs. Tarrosa, etc. That is why we have what we call the footnotes, i.e. ibid., loc. cit., op.cit., and of course, the bibliography.

Pacete: Anting-anting for luck

“Where History ends, Anthropology begins.” This could be challenging. If you want to follow this passion, you have to leave the library. Go to the field. The action is there.

When I went to the village to meet people as part of my work, many of them showed me their ‘anting-anting’ (lucky charm). I don’t believe in ‘anting-anting’. I believe in careful planning and serious implementation. Success is not a product of a wishful thinking. It is a result of hard work. Anyway, even the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos believed in the power of his ‘punta diamante anting-anting.’ He was lucky in war (as he claimed) and he was lucky with Imelda (as Imelda claimed).

Ombion: Too late, too little

A YOUNG politician advocating some sort of new politics has been telling everyone everywhere recently that the people, the voters, are already politically mature, that they cannot be bought anymore, or that a few will accept money but still vote according to their conscience.

Lizares: The Tilma and the eyes of Our Lady of Guadalupe

DECEMBER 12 is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Mary’s apparition to Juan Diego is another manifestation of her important role as intercessor and messenger of Our Lord.

A brief story of Our Lady of Guadalupe tells us of a poor Indian who was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower and lived in a small village near Mexico City.

Sánchez: Numbers game

I FOUND that monitoring Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) is a numbers game of categorizing wind power and getting a grip on what's at stake from the experiences of previous hurricanes or typhoons.

Legaspi: Advent?

ADVENT is the season of the year where a Catholic faithful is expected to await the coming of Christ on Christmas day. Here all the Sunday readings remind us of the shout of John the Baptist in the wilderness. One could hear the term "prepare."

In the Philippines, the season of advent or even before the opening of the season, business establishments start putting Christmas decors and others start greeting one another "Merry Christmas." Bonuses are already even prepared for the employees for the holidays. This makes the advent season one of the happiest seasons of the year.

Pacete: Is the world coming to an end?

IT IS not funny if we speculate for a 'Yes' answer. One thing is sure. The world had its beginning and it will really come to an end. Maybe the planet earth will stay after the End of Days but I am sure that the earth will have a new face with new life forms.

Editorial: Make use of the calm before the storm

WITH yesterday’s searing mid-day heat, you would have thought that it is already the midst of summer. With nary a gray cloud in the Bacolod skies, you wouldn’t have thought that Storm Signal Number 1 was already hoisted in most of the Visayas, including the whole of Western Visayas and the entire Negros Island.

Typhoon Pablo (international name Bopha) entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Sunday. It packs maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 210 kph.

Pacete: An invitation to remember

THE invitation was personally delivered to the Silay City Tourism Office. “We request the honor of your presence at our Thanksgiving Trade Party; 27th day of November; Tuesday; 6:00 pm at Planta Centro Bacolod Hotel Grand Ballroom. Come in your Oscar Awards-inspired attire. Dress to impress.”

GMA-Bacolod sent the invitation. Tina Magbojos, the station manager, made personal follow-up to see to it that the “Yes answer” would really mean the presence of the one invited. When I received my invitation, I readily cleared my evening for the event. Yes, it was a Trade Party and the guests were compelled to be in their Oscars best. Fashion trendsetters started to arrive on time. Some sported the look from a decadent decade but managed to reinterpret themselves in the present era.

Hagad: Long in coming

WITHIN this month of December President Benigno Aquino III will sign the consolidated Senate and House versions of the “Kasambahay Bill.” When P-Noy does sign it into a real, honest-to-goodness law, it will provide our long-expecting kasambahays, our timbangs, yayas, kusineras and family drivers with rights and benefits that the first Senate Bill envisioned 36 years ago!

Ombion: Compromise and accommodation

THE Comelec En Banc’s dismissal of the disqualification cases against administration-favorite Akbayan party list and the militant Bayan Muna party list, was a clear case of political compromise and accommodation.

The Comelec, obviously getting the command from its boss PNoy and his political advisers, had to compromise and accommodate Bayan Muna in Congress, not because it believes in the latter’s principles and program, but in order to have justification for keeping the controversial Akbayan in the House rooster.