Nokor nuke fallout: More Sokor tourists!

This part of the globe has once again become too dangerous for comfort when North Korea’s Kim-Jong Il defied all the warnings of the United Nations (UN) Security Council and blasted its first-ever nuclear bomb underground in Giju, a hundred kilometers from the Chinese border. As expected, the UN Security Council condemned this aggressive act by the North Koreans, now obviously very unwelcome members of the exclusive nuclear club. What’s ironic here is that the United Nations just installed South Korean Foreign Minister Ban K-moon as its eighth Secretary-General.

Now everyone is anxious as to what kind of response that the UN would do to prevent North Korea from further expanding its nuclear arsenal. Truth to tell, the UN has become inutile to prevent the arms race from spreading. Without any UN sanctions against belligerent Iran, you can expect that in the next few months, we shall see another nuclear test conducted in the Middle East. With this news, I’m sure that the ASEAN members would surely have this problem on its agenda in the coming 12th ASEAN Leaders’ Summit.

Meanwhile, I would like to believe that this recent international incident would create a "nuclear fallout" of more South Koreans swooping down to live in the Philippines, many of whom are already here as part of the hundreds of thousands of Koreans purportedly studying English in most of our major cities or disguised as tourists.

The reality of a real war has always been ever present in the Korean peninsula, thanks to a failed diplomatic effort that did not solve the Korean question, but rather put it in a state of suspended animation in the 38th parallel. In hindsight, if only Gen. Douglas MacArthur was given the go-signal to cross the Yalu River, we’d probably see a less hostile Korea today!

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In response to our Monday article on the Carmen Bulk Water Project, I got this text message last Monday: "Gud am Bobit, Joel Lacsamana of Manila Water hir. Tnx very much 4 ur excellent column 2day about Carmen prjkt, it ws very fair and accurate. Hopefully d stakeholders of Cebu c it just as clearly. Hav a nice day."

Most pundits in Cebu have dubbed the Carmen Bulk Water Project as "gubot pa sa lukot." Lukot is a very tasty seaweed dish that looks like mini-green pancit, almost Afro hair-like and difficult to untangle. But yes, as we said too many cooks spoil the broth. Suddenly we are seeing other interested parties whose reputations precede them. For instance, I read a report not so long ago that the Rio Verde Development Corp. (RVDC) of Pepito Alvarez, one of the bidders in the Carmen project, was using carcinogenic asbestos pipes in Cagayan de Oro as claimed by Councilor Alvin Calingin.

Another concern is that a government commission supposedly ordered Rio Verde Consortium’s P1-billion bulk water supply project for Cagayan de Oro to temporarily stop its operations for allegedly breaking laws on the protection of the Pualas Indigenous People’s Development Association (Pipda). At this point, I would like to see bidders to Cebu’s water project that don’t have problems with the governments in the areas they are serving. Are these issues against Rio Verde really true or at least solved?

Meanwhile, here’s another e-mailed response to that article:

"Hi Bobit, I read your online article today about the Carmen water project and can’t help but send you this e-mail just to provide you with more info. About three months ago, we (Global Water Resources International) offered to help MCWD in its water woes by tapping new water sources for them using the Megawatershed technology — at no cost to them.

"At no cost because the exploration and development of the source is on a BOTT scheme. MCWD simply has to pay for the water that is delivered to its pipeline. There is more than enough water on the island of Cebu that they have not tapped and could not tap simply because they don’t possess the technology. But upon learning that a commitment has already been made with the Ayala Consortium, we did not pursue our ‘unsolicited proposal’ so as not to waste time and money. It’s a pity; a good offer comes to MCWD yet they could not seem to use it. At any rate, if your time permits, please check out www.gwri-inc.com. To download a presentation on Megawatershed, please go this link: http://www.gwri-inc.com/what_we_do.htm. Have a good day! Eric Manalastas, GWRI-AsiaPac, [email protected]"

I suggest that we explore this website and see if this group can seriously give us new ideas on where to find more water for Cebu at less cost.

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I got a very pleasant surprise last Thursday afternoon when Oscar Corona, who works as a chart analyst in the Medical Record Department of the Community Hospital in North Baldwin, Long Island, New York, dropped by my office for a visit. Actually, Oscar used to work as the head of the collection department of the Cebu International Finance Corp. for almost 25 years but moved to New York in 2002 to follow his wife who went to the US as a nurse way back in 1995. I also know his brother Ben who used to work with NEDA and helped us in the Regional Development Council.

Oscar is the classic example of the Filipino who shares the American dream of living a life in pursuit of happiness. While I’m sure he’s doing fine in North Baldwin, NY (which is not far from Garden City, Minneola where I used to stay in Long Island way back in 1972), his heart is still very much a Cebuano. Thanks to Bill Clinton, who ordered the creation of the Internet Superhighway, Filipinos are never far away from home. Like Oscar, he opens his computer and reads our column in The Freeman and The Philippine STAR whenever it comes out.

Oscar has already sent me DVD copies of various historical documentaries or movies like Who Wrote the Bible or Sex in the Bible. A favorite one he had sent me was American Guerrilla in the Philippines, a classic Hollywood made-in-the-Philippines movie produced in the 1950s complete with Cebuano dialogues.

Actually, Oscar has been writing his responses to my columns, which I often reprint here. But it was the first time we’ve met and this time, he brought along another historical documentary about the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which we will feature in this corner a few weeks from now. By the time this column comes out, Oscar will be back in his Long Island salt mines. Thanks Oscar for that short visit. You have proven to us that the Internet has indeed made local columnists like me "global" and that the world has really shrunk. God bless you!

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns in The Freeman can also be accessed through The Philippine STAR website (www.philstar.com). He also hosts a weekly talkshow, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable. Bobit’s columns can also be accessed at www.shootinginsidecebu.blogspot.com.