It’s full steam ahead for the 2009 Sinulog Fiesta, dubbed as the country’s topnotch tourism drawer and as they say, proof of the pudding is in the eating because all available hotel rooms in Metro Cebu are filled to capacity. Now who was it who said that there was a recession? Traffic in Cebu resembles that of the traditional traffic jams for the Christmas season… thanks to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s pet program called “Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH),” those devotees of Señor Sto. Niño from Bohol, Negros Island or Leyte would bring their cars or vans to Cebu via roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) vessels because it is cheaper to bring your car than to rent one in Cebu or ride by taxi.
There are so many activities for the entire week and with my weeklong colds still bugging me, I decided to attend only a few activities. One of them was last Tuesday at the five-star Marco Polo Plaza Hotel that celebrated the Sinulog in its own way by having a special exhibit of the rare Sto. Niño collection loaned by our good friend Val Sandiego, dubbed the Compañeros de Juego del Sto. Niño. This exhibit runs until Monday.
If you notice I said that Marco Polo Plaza is now a five-star hotel, that’s because last Dec. 22, the Department of Tourism (DOT) issued a certification recognizing the Marco Polo as a “deluxe hotel,” which is technically a higher standard than a first-class hotel, hence it is a five-star hotel.
Incidentally the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel is giving a culinary feast dubbed the “Cebuano Heritage Cuisine” where old Cebuano dishes are available to all guests and visitors. I would like to believe that it is the only hotel featuring old Cebuano cuisine, where the chefs of Marco Polo were given lessons in Cebuano cuisine under the tutelage of Mrs. Jessica Avila (hmm, her name sounds very familiar to me) and the Cebu media was given a first taste of the cuisine that old Cebuanos used to savor. Pit Senyor!
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One of the sideshows for the Sinulog is the Coral Tee of the Cebu Country Club, where members get non-members as their partners in the four-day event. During the cocktails last Wednesday, I notice a very familiar face… and he turned out to be Atty. Felisberto Verano… whom ABS-CBN dubbed as the “stationary thief.” Yes, we did write about him and his partner, Victor Yuvallos, who is a close friend of mine, asked me if I wanted to talk with him… so we sat down together for a quick chat.
As he had a long story to tell, I asked Atty. Verano to give me some highlights and here’s what he pointed out to me… first, that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) did not coordinate with the local government when they conducted the buy-bust operation. Second, according to their rules, the poseur buyer must do the act of buying himself… but the poseur buyer gave the boodle money to Joseph, who in turned bought the drugs from Brodett. As Brodett was short of the Ecstasy drug, he reimbursed Joseph with P7,500 from his own money. So Atty. Verano asked, where’s that money? How come PDEA didn’t return it?
After the car chase was over, Atty. Verano insisted that PDEA did not do an “on-site” inspection… and perhaps did it somewhere else, so he said that it was easy for PDEA to plant drugs as evidence. Of course, it goes without saying that all this would end up in court and proper evidence presented. The whole trouble here is that there are three sides to an issue: Atty. Verano’s side, PDEA’s side and the truth. Often, it is the truth that gets sandwiched and lost. Let’s hope we’ll get to the bottom of this mess.
Meanwhile, the latest report we got on this celebrated case is that GMA has designated herself as the anti-drug czar. Now I would like to believe that as President she has a lot of things on her hands and that she should give this job to the right person. On the other hand, it’s a bit too late to install a drug czar to work for just a little over a year in the remainder of her administration. If you ask me, she should have created an anti-drug czar early in her presidency.
At this point, let me say that we really don’t need a whole army of anti-drug agents. If you recall in the 30s when America was wallowing in problems with gangsters like the Chicago mob, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was created to fight organized crime. I’m sure that you’ve seen the TV series or the movie “The Untouchables” so you’ll know where I’m getting at. So good luck to GMA on her personal involvement in fighting the drug menace, the worse disease that afflicts all nations of the world.
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For e-mail responses to this article, write to vsbobita@mozcom.com. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.philstar.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow, “Straight from the Sky,” every Monday, 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.