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Saturday, September 17, 2005
Espinoza: Undermining the spirit of fraternity
By Elias L. Espinoza
It's time. It took Supt. Vic Loot, acting Cebu Provincial Police Office director, to implement the idea of naming warring fraternities Alpha Kappa Rho (Akrho) and Tau Gamma Phi as criminal gangs.
They don’t deserve to be called a brotherhood organization, especially with the killings and the injuries suffered by members as a result of their hostilities, not to mention the many innocent bystanders they have hurt.
If my information is right, these two fraternities have been recruiting out-of-school members and, worse, some have criminal records. So it is not surprising that killing each other is second nature to some of them.
The aim and original purpose of a fraternity have been put to naught by the way these two fraternities have been acting. One of the intentions of joining a fraternity is to seek friendship and companionship for students who come from distant places.
As Supt. Loot correctly puts it, “the essence of a fraternity is brotherhood and engaging in socio-civic activities and not in killing each other, only criminals do that.”
In my previous columns, when the fighting between these two fraternities hogged the newspapers’ headlines, I suggested to the police authorities to outlaw them.
Efforts of the police and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to patch up the differences between Akrho and Tau Gamma Phi were only good for few days. After that, the killings resumed.
The move of Superintendent Loot deserves support of the police hierarchy and the local government authorities concerned. It is about time that these two fraternities taste reality.
The crimes or wrongs done to the society by these two groups are more than enough to outlaw them.
DISMAL. In this time of economic crisis, it is simply wretched for Malacañang to spend P50 million to hire a US lobby group for something that would benefit the public.
The amount many not be that big for Malacañang but our country badly needs it. Such spending is misplaced and only insults the poor.
To simple minds, lobbying for charter funds is nonsensical, if not preposterous. Personally, I don’t even see the need to lobby funds for charter change with the US government since this only undermines our independence.
The move of Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico to call for a congressional investigation on this deal may be a long shot but it’s worth a try. If not for the PCIJ’s expose, the lobby contract would have remained a secret deal.
HOT WATER. The Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) is in hot water after two lady councilors questioned its existence. The issue must have been prompted by the purchase of packed lunches for PUJ drivers, who did not join last Monday’s transport strike.
Imagine, the Cebu City Government, which is in dire need of funds for the repayment of its gargantuan loan for the South Reclamation Project, had to spend for worthless expenses during the failed transport strike in Metro Cebu.
The expose of the two lady city legislators on how the CCDCC works was simply revealing. People, who are not supposed to be in this body, can allegedly vote and declare calamities. It’s just fantastic, if not terrible.
No matter how Councilor Gerry Carillo defends the CCDCC, the fact remains that the persons that comprise it have been questioned. CCDCC members should be revealed now, whoever they are.
This is on the supposition that the lady councilors are not beholden to Mayor Tomas Osmeña. If they are, I doubt the names will ever be made public.
(September 17, 2005 issue)
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