Costanilla: Calungsod and unpaid judges

MOVIE. We are behind the plan of Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos to jointly produce a movie on the life of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, who will soon be beatified in Rome. Sounds exciting to us considering that, as historians tell us, the martyred youth was from Ginatilan, making him the very first true-blue Cebuano saint.

This upcoming film should be based on thorough research about Blessed Pedro’s exploits in Guam, where he was executed in the defense of the Catholic faith. And who are the probable members of the cast? I could suggest some names—some of them based in Cebu and the others in Manila—but it is best to leave this matter to the two governors.

Incidentally, I was in the governor’s conference room at the Capitol when the two governors’ meeting on the planned movie was halted during last Monday’s earthquake.

Rejoice. We should rejoice over the planned movie on Blessed Pedro, as this could give

us a complete picture on the martyred youth’s life and strong faith in God, something that all Catholic faithful should emulate. I don’t know, however, if there are also other film outfits or producers interested to do a similar flick.

I think it is not a good idea to come up with two or more movie versions, as it might confuse the general public. To me, there should be only one Blessed Pedro film—one that is research-based and duly endorsed, if I may suggest, by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and all Church-mandated organizations to ensure general public viewership in its regular run in cinemas across the country. We wish governors Garcia and Marcos good luck in their joint filmmaking venture.

Honoraria. Believe it or not, a local government unit here has miserably failed to compensate the prominent members of the panel of judges hired to pick the winners during a major singing competition it organized last month. The city government has, as of this writing, not yet given them their honoraria, which is SOP (standard operating procedure).

The judges that did an excellent job during the contest included the music genius Msgr. Rudy Villanueva, composers Gani Villarojo and Eugene Tan and award-winning singer Girlie Lapinid-Laspiñas. After the show, some organizers explained to them that their honoraria will be released the following week, specifically Monday, since it was a Friday evening when the competition was staged. It’s now February, and not a single cent has been released to the judges. I’m afraid that even the winners have not yet gotten their much-deserved cash prizes.

Reminder. I’m writing on this matter if only to remind and call the attention of show organizers that what they did was a clear display of incompetence and unprofessionalism. They were supposed to give the judges their due honoraria after the service was rendered. I hope I’m wrong in my fear that the city mayor himself is not aware of this unfortunate incident. He might have already signed all the pertinent documents on the honoraria but could be unaware that the same has not yet been released to the jurors and maybe the winners. If their honoraria are not released at the end of this week, I will be compelled to reveal some names here in this corner next Monday.

Concert. Don’t miss Ultimate Love Concert on Feb. 17 at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug this city because three great singers will share the same stage to delight us with their love hits. Dan Hill, Rex Smith and Jimi Jamison will entertain us with the romantic pieces that have made them internationally acclaimed artists. Call tel. nos. 254-9643 or 239-1856 and look for Bobot Ramos for your tickets.