Wenceslao: The other Rama

LAST week wasn’t only the week of two Ramas. A third Rama actually grabbed the limelight, but in the national level.

To recall, one of the highlights of the 74th Cebu City Charter Day celebration last Feb. 24 was the 9th Don Vicente Rama Memorial Lecture, with former Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. as guest lecturer. Davide described Nyor Inting as “God’s gift to the Cebuanos.” The Charter Day rites’ star, of course, was Mayor Michael Rama, Nyor Inting’s grandson.

Seares: Probe on slay of pastor’s wife bungled too

OVER the Ellah Joy Pique kidnapping-murder case, police could fall on its face.

Prospects aren’t bright for the cops: A police chief resigned. Sven Erik Berger and Karen Esdrelon presented an alibi that, NBI said, checked out. Bounty givers, in doubt, have withheld reward. Three kids identified Sven and Karen as the couple who lured Ellah Joy to their van but alibi is strong and there’s no other evidence yet against the suspects.

Nalzaro: Diplomatic and political pressures

THE Provincial Prosecutor’s Office is set to release today, or within this week, its resolution on the gruesome murder of Ellah Joy Pique. And don’t be surprised if the prosecutors handling it will recommend the dismissal of the case against Norwegian national Sven Erik Berger and his Cebuana fiancée Karen Castro Esdrelon.

Mongaya: People Power

DEVELOPMENTS in Libya show us what happens when dictators violently respond to people power uprisings. Mercenaries and loyalists of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi have killed at least 1,000 protestors in his bid to stay in power. Instead of cowing the protesters, the protests intensified and the dictator has so far lost control of two key cities, while he has earned the ire of the international community. Now, Gadhafi is like a cornered animal in Tripoli, unable to escape to former friendly countries.

Echaves: A soul’s journey

PEOPLE who’ve lost loved ones find themselves in a flurry of questions. “What immediately happens after one dies?” “What does one feel at the verge of dying?” And non-atheists wonder, “Where do the souls go after death?”

They could go back to reading again master hypnotherapist Dr. Michael Newton’s first book, “Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life between Lives.” A product of 10 years of research from his practice, the book gives readers a sense of direction, if not relief.

Aguilar: Bacolor regaining lost glory

REHABILITATION goes on unceasingly. Help coming from within and outside sources never come to an end. And the town that lahar well nigh wiped off the map continues to rise like the phoenix from its ashes. Indeed, Bacolor is slowly but surely bouncing back to regain its lost glory. ANTING SAMPAGA KENG TANGKE E MEPANAT –“BUKADKAD NING BACULUD ALANG PATANAT

Pangan: Message is clear

SEE how swift the drug trafficking case of the once Honorable Ronald Singson of Ilocos Sur was decided by the Wanchai District Court of Hong Kong?

Paras: A little rose

DAHILAYAN, Bukidnon -- It has been a whirlwind of activity the past four days, where relatives from the US and Manila converged to celebrate the 90th birthday of the matriarch of the Paras clan based in Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao.

Mercado: Divide et Impera

PAMPANGA media workers never had it so good during the Marcos regime. Every newsman – oldtimer and newcomer – had equal chances of earning a quick buck. “There’s so much for all of us,” Max Sangil used to placate certain colleagues who quarreled over turf and equitable share.

Sapnu: Accomplishments ni Tinio

MATATANDAANG naupo si Sr. Supt. Edgardo Tinio bilang Pampanga police provincial director noong Pebrero 1, at ilan na ang kanyang ini-report na mga “accomplishments.”

Oledan: Incapacity

NOTHING could be disheartening than watching overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya narrating how they are trying to cross the borders to escape and return home. Most of them were hinging on the promise of the Philippine embassy to provide assistance for them to be able to safely get out of Libya. But they could not continue waiting, and without anything but the help of their employers or Libyan friends, they took the danger of traveling the desert and trying their luck.

Mendoza: Tips for online security

DIRECTOR’S Cut: (This portion features the thoughts of DepEd 11 Regional Director Susana Teresa B. Estigoy, Ceso IV to all stakeholders and recipients of the efforts to improve the basic education)

Bautista: People Power Revolutions

THERE'S a wave of revolutions sweeping the Middle East, but not the ideological revolutions of the past characterized by bloodshed and carnage. It is the bloodless revolution of the people: from the streets of Tunisia that has unseated President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the Tahrir Square of Egypt that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, the streets of Bahrain where there is currently an ongoing clamor for reform, to the streets of Libya that is now threatening the long-running despotic rule of Moammar Gadhafi.

Limlingan: Abuse

LAST WEEK, a friend, who goes to his office daily using his car, asked me where he might get a Department of the Interior and Local Government sticker which he can stick at his sedan’s windshield.

Answering him that I don’t know where or how one could get it, he asked me instead where he can get an LTO (Land Transportation Office) or a PNP (Philippine National Police) logo sticker.

Cortez: Cut it off, pluck it out

OUT of his abounding love, God shared his life to man -- giving him a body, a mind and a spirit. He gave man the privilege to use his senses… to think… to feel… to grow. He also gave him the right to enjoy the world and to act as steward of all creation. Thus, in his time, God made everything beautiful.

But evil set in and destroyed the order of things. Yielding to temptation, man attached more importance to that which was created than to him who created all things. Thus, blessings intended by God to draw man closer to him were used on the contrary, that is, to pull man away from God.

Sapnu: Warehouse, Sinalakay

ISANG WAREHOUSE na pinaniniwalaang ginagamit ng Dominguez Group ang sinalakay ng magkasanib na puwersa ng Highway Patrol Unit-3 (HPU3), Pampanga Police Provincial Office (PPPO) at City of San Fernando Police noong Martes.

Ang sinalakay na warehouse ay nasa #22 Zamora Street, Davsan Subdivision, Barangay Sindalan, City of San Fernando na nadiskubre ng HPU3 matapos ng isinagawang surveillance dito.

Estremera: The Pareto principle 

A LOUD crack, and then the boat sank. Instinct took over, I jumped off, backpack, eyeglasses, beach towel, tsinelas, and all, and bopped up and down amid the churning wild waves. I realized I had a problem, as soon as I hit water, when I felt my left tsinelas slip off. I was treading water with only one tsinelas, that means once I'm on land, I will only have one tsinelas.

Sunday Essays: Pa-Aso 

"LIKE any other countries challenged by the administrative methods of advanced nations, our country has a feeble pet ownership awareness among pet owners and citizens. This should be prioritized for us to keep in mind that dogs have feelings and rights too." 

DOGS are man's best friend. So they say.

Sunday Essays: Take it deep on wet markets 

THE wet market, as usually described by many, is a dirty place with foul odor. Its pathways are congested and too crowded and, often times, market vendors are tagged as loudmouth and impolite. But there are issues that need to be delved deeper in and out of the market.

Swindling, ransack, riot, misunderstanding between vendors and customers, fake money, rejected goods are a few of the many issues and consequences a marketer from a public market like that of Bankerohan Public Market in Davao City experiences every now and then.

Dacawi: The original Askals

THEY should have been the original "askals", having preceded by 20 years today's overnight celebrity men's squad who call themselves Azkals. (The term, of course, is short for "asong kalye" or stray dog. It means any football player hardly has a future in a Third World country of midgets hopelessly hooked to basketball.)

Carino: Edsa atbp.

EDSA. This column hits the press as the country celebrates its 25th EDSA revolution day. That bloodless coup remains one for the books, with many attempts to copy it, by populations from both within our nation and without. Some of those attempts were successful, some not. What remains constant is the memory of the inimitable original. So to label those attempts from within as EDSAs II and III is futile. But I've said that before, so for this weekend, let's just remember the real deal.

Cayading: The emotional parent

TODAY'S parents-and especially those in the educated class who consume parenting information and education via newspaper columns, books, parenting counseling and seminars-tend toward what I call "psychological thinking." They assign emotional meaning and significance to any behavior on the part of their children that is the least bit out of order.

Dumaguing: Where do we get anti-oxidants?

ANTI-oxidants can be in the form of vitamins like VitaminE or alpha tocopherol, Vitamin C or ascorbic acid (not the alkalinized form of the vitamin) and Vitamin A or retinol; minerals like copper, selenium, zinc. The best way to know the answer where we get anti-oxidants is to make sure we eat plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Foods contasining anti-oxidants are often lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and with the added bonus of having a higher fiber content, thus avoiding constipation and its usual complication like hemorrhoids.

Del Rosario: Good company

HOW often, as kids, have you heard the line, "Choose your friends carefully!"?

When we read the news articles about the millions of pesos that are received for "pabaon" and the cries for abolition of certain institutions, what came to my mind was the above line. Many of them got involved because of the company they kept, and might even have protected and encouraged one another as members of the same "brotherhood".

Balweg: CRA-CAR in another Panagbenga

WITH downtown Baguio agog with the aura of floral panagbenga, CARAD sticks to carry on its self-imposed assignment: the panagbenga of the Regional Bodies of CAR, particularly the CRA. The one, a passing show of momentary joy; the other, a resumed, show of determination to find lifelong joy. The one, today's joy in a city; the other, tomorrow's joy in a region. The one, a mere show to watch; the other, a legacy of status to be in.

Evangelista: Float Parade: Panagbenga's greatest show

THE keenly awaited Panagbenga float parade, easily summer's greatest local show, unreels down Session Road this morning.

Starting at the Panagbenga Park at 8:00 o'clock in the morning, the float parade with top officials of the city, the Baguio Flower Foundation and other ranking officials of seven other Cordillera provinces and city at the vanguard, the beautifully and artistically flower decorated floats will negotiate Session Road, to Magsaysay Avenue thence to Harrison Road and winding down at the Baguio Athletic Oval for welcome ceremonies.

Bennett: God will take care of you!

THE best link I have seen so far on Facebook is Frank Daytec Jr.'s child, mother and father's version of the song "God will take care of you" from the Lakeside Baptist Church. It brings to mind the Biblical passage that says, "Be like a child." The child who looked like he was just some two years old sang his heart out as he blended voices with his father and mother but the best part was when he sang, "God will take care of you every day in every way." Indeed He does.

Padilla: Nonito Donaire scores, Filipinos rejoice

TRUE to his words and action, Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire Jr. captured the World Boxing Organization and the World Boxing Council bantamweight championship belts from Mexico's Fernando Montiel last Sunday in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Sun.Star Essay: Oh, for fresh air!

WHEN should we warn ourselves and take seriously the danger of smoking and secondhand smoke? There are now Philippine laws controlling tobacco, such as the imposition of higher taxes on cigarettes. But that’s hardly the answer to the problem, say some observers.

Mercado: Judicial yoyo

DOES the Supreme Court play judicial yoyo? Consider its repeated somersaults over Bogo, Naga, Carcar and 13 towns elbowing to be cities.

“Oh no! Not again!” reads an Inquirer report. “The Supreme Court flip-flopped yet again on cityhood of 16 towns. This time, it upheld constitutionality of laws that created (them)."