Monday, May 05, 2008 Pangan: Alienation of affection By Benjie R. Pangan At Close Range
IN OUR statute books, alienation of one's affection is punishable, especially so if the intruder is considered a family friend, a trusted aide or even a relative.
It is mental corruption, if not depravity, this swaying of the affection of the family members from the lawful beneficiary to the pretender.
It starts with plain brainwashing of the minds, particularly of minors, by the pretender and may consist of giving material things, even if not asked or solicited, to the minors, saying claims favorable to the encroacher and against the elder or any bona fide family member who should be loved and respected in the first place.
This situation is not unusual, as a matter of fact, it is commonplace.
It occurs when trust is betrayed or usurped by someone with hidden agenda and comes into family affairs, becomes privy to the secrets and idiosyncracies and outrightly meddles on issues that should have been better left to the discretion of the real family members.
In writing this piece, I can recall some lyrics of an old Elvis Presley ditty titled That's When Your Heartaches Begin and some of the relevant words go this way: If you find your sweetheart in the arms of a friend/that's when your heartaches begin/if you bring a friend into your love affair/that's when your heartaches begin.
Sad, but alienation of affection happens. I should know, because just last week, I confronted an intruder, a gay audio technician with an American surname and has a mailing address at San Lorenzo Mall of Dau Plaza.
Predators, like voyeurs and stalkers are scourges, of our society and this gay technician is no exception.
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I commend Superintendent Rene Soria for responding swiftly to my distress call last Friday at 11 p.m.
He forthwith patched my call to elements of the Mabalacat Police Station who confronted the intruder and took our respective statements.
This week, I will file complaints against this gay technician for Grave Slander and violations of the provisions of the Child Abuse law for alienating the affection of my 17-year-old son.
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I have an unsolicited advice for parents: monitor your young children's movements, the people they go or hang out with, their hobbies and behavior.
For all you know, they are being sweet-talked into learning how to smoke and drink heavily. It is disaster afterwards.
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School opening, estudyante blues. In a few days, the school frenzy will become obvious and livid, as everyone of school age, prepares to be enlisted in a school of choice.
The shrewd entrepreneurs are now lining up, even on sidewalks, notebooks, pads of paper, ball pens and pencils of all sorts.
This school year, Mabalacat students can come and enrol at the newly minted Mabalacat College under the stewardship of Mr. Leonardo Canlas.
While not all is free, the college will charge reasonable fees with focus on poor but deserving students.
A brainchild of Mayor Boking Morales, this new development in the town's educational community, will definitely help in upgrading the literacy growth of Mabalacat studentry.
Other implementors, including former South District and soon-to-be East District supervisor Carmelita Sotto, DepEd Director Mario Ramirez and other top education officials, deserve our commendation.
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I sympathize with the family of the late Dante M. Fabian. Like his brother before him, Ody, Dante was a devoted media practitioner.
He died young at 49 and he would have had a better career run had not death stopped him. He is a good example that beauty is only relatively skin-deep.
In Dante, goodness lies deep within.
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My thanks go to SM City Pampanga officials headed by mall manager Roman Palo and his beautiful bachelorette assistant mall manager Joann Castelo who is still enjoying her single-blessedness, despite persistent wooing from lovestruck suitors.
A deadringer for Dawn Zulueta and Plinky Recto, Joann seems deadset on being a member of the Singles Club, along with Architect Renee Bacani of SM North Edsa, a huge Greenbelt type mall, thanks largely to the innovative efforts of Engineer Bien Mateo.
I also appreciate the solicitousness of Mac Salta of 7 Eleven and Jerry Arenas of Aresun. Thanks a lot, guys.
