GIVE. Don Pedro Cui was a lawyer who made his fortune in the tobacco industry. From his stately mansion in the then upscale Parian district, he would walk to the Basilica del Santo Niño with his sister Benigna, also unmarried, to hear mass. The sight of candle vendors dancing the Sinulog did not escape their attention. Most of the vendors were women and many were elderly and providing care for them in their ripe old age was a legitimate question.
That thought and their “humility, kindness and generosity” must have been what prodded the siblings to establish the Hospicio de San Jose de Barili, the current administrator Raymund B. Cui recalled last week.
The Hospicio, as it is popularly known, is the first of each kind in the Philippines. Located in the southwestern town of Barili, it sits on a generous slice of prime real estate along the national highway.
It is curently home to 33 benificiaries, receiving adequate care by a staff of physicians, nurses, caregivers, nutritionists and dieticians. All free of charge and without any subsidy from the government, except an exemption from all taxes.
The cost of operating the Hospicio is funded solely by rentals from properties that its founders donated to the institution. Raymond, a fourth generation Cui, said most of these properties are located in downtown Cebu City.
The Hospicio turned 100 last month, outliving its founders and 10 previous administrators. It is likely to be declared a national heritage, which would at least help preserve its structure, Raymund said.
And hopefully, if I may add, the memory of the love, compassion and spirit of giving that gave it being. It’s a virtue that is practically extinct in this, our era of shameless and obscene greed.
TAKE. We pay taxes because the government is supposed to be our partner. But why do we share much to a partner that does nothing but wait and then loses it to thieves? The government is bleeding us dry.
GIVE AND TAKE. The Misamis Oriental governor accused the media in her province of extortion. You don’t have to attack me to get money from me, she told them. I’ll give you. Be fair.
The accusation caused an uproar. It is a blanket insult to our profession, media said.
I feel for our colleagues but we, especially the broadcasters, dish out insults on a regular basis. Let’s learn to take what we dish out.