A boy's journey has finally ended

Rudy Geronimo, 18 years of age, passed away at high noon yesterday, in his home at Lower Kalaklan, Subic town, Zambales, another victim of toxic waste left behind by the Americans at the Subic Naval Base. "I'm tired...I'm tired. I want to go home," Rudy had whispered, in the morning of his death. His mother had pleaded to him, to wait for his older brother Ronie, who was away on a company assignment in the United States. "Pagod na po ako. Hindi ko na kayang hintayin si Kuya," Rudy answered. Thus, Rudy's short life on this earth came to an end.

Fr. Donal Bennett, the ever-jolly Irish priest, sounded sad when he called me up yesterday, at 1 p.m., to tell me of Rudy's death. "Thanks for all your help," the Columban father said, as he was trying to find out how to locate Ronie, his former altar boy, at the American West Coast, to relay to him the sad news.

What saddens me is that I was unable to stir up the nation's outrage over the toxic waste problem at Clark and Subic. While Senator Sergio Osmeña III had called me up, after I first wrote about Rudy Geronimo's struggle against leukemia in October of last year, to ask for additional info on toxic waste victims, other leaders' voices were muted. Apparently, they had and continue to have other priorities. But then, aren't so many Filipino youngsters dying because of toxic waste?

Let me now thank all the Good Samaritans who went out of their way to respond to my appeal for help for Rudy's chemotherapy sessions at the UST Hospital. All in all, I was able to raise and appropriate some P170,000 for Rudy's treatment. While the seven-month battle to save Rudy's life was eventually lost, the thought that there are Christian-hearted Filipinos who are willing to share part of their blessings with the less fortunate in life is truly inspiring. Thanks a million, and God bless!

The popularity rating of President Estrada can go up, in the same way that it can also go down further. The big problem, though, faced by President Erap's handlers, is that there are more negative things happening right now, bad things that can make his popularity rating dip even lower than what the latest surveys say. On top of it all, political observers see hardly anything positive in the immediate future that can happen to make Erap's rating go up.

It will take a lot of political will to make good things happen, that will boost President Erap's rating. And these happenings must be dramatic and spectacular, if the downward trend is to be reversed. More importantly, the happenings must come from the heart and must be truly meaningful in improving the lives of the people.

A dramatic and genuine campaign to stop graft and corruption. A speedy delivery of basic services to the people by the current lethargic bureaucracy. An honest-to-goodness effort to give flesh and meaning to the promises made during the Presidential Inauguration. A true demonstration of austerity and simple living. All these things and many more are needed to regain President Erap's high popularity rating.

A couple of weeks ago, I met with a group of young alumni from the University of the Philippines, all of them officials of the Sigma Kappa Pi fraternity, which was founded in 1968. The group that attended the EDSA Shangri-La Garden Cafe meeting was led by journalist Jarius Bondoc, who is the chairman of the fraternity. Jarius was joined by his fraternity colleagues Arthur Non, Jess Toldoya, Rod Deang, Jojo Salas, and John Pasamonte.

What we talked about was very interesting. It involved a dramatic initiative from the Sigma Kappa Pi to put an end to violence in fraternity activities. And the initiative is an open chess tournament -- "Founders Cup 2000: Be a Master Chess Tournament" -- designed to provide avenues in harnessing Filipino talents in the field of chess. The venue of the tournament is the Clark Dine Officers Club at the Clark Special Economic Zone, and the tournament date is April 14-16.

I was initially reluctant to work with the Sigma Kappa Pi, because of the public perception that fraternities are synonymous to violence. But on second thought, I felt that the initiative is an excellent opportunity to encourage and inspire all other fraternities to be responsible members of the community. And more importantly, the chess tournament could serve as a signal for an end to senseless fraternity violence.

I thus agreed to support the Sigma Kappa Pi project, realizing that fraternities are organizations that have noble objectives, such as promoting academic excellence, leadership, service, and brotherhood. I also thought that my involvement could, in some way, help in underscoring that violence has no place in such worthy objectives. Through the chess tournament, I hope we shall prevail in the campaign to put an end to senseless fraternity violence.

In the meantime, may I call on corporations with a social conscience to lend their support to this refreshing undertaking by the Sigma Kappi Pi. The corporate entities' assistance could go a long way towards saving lives and stopping the maiming of human bodies, through senseless frat wars.

Here are excerpts from some letters I received during the past several days:

ALEXANDER P. AGUIRRE, National Security Adviser and Director-General, National Security Council: "You ask whether the government has a master plan to cope with the insurgency problem. Yes, the government has a master plan and is prepared and capable to effectively deal with the problem. At the Cabinet meeting of 29 September 1999, the President approved the adoption of the Strategy of Total Approach (STA) to address insurgency. On 6 October 1999, the President issued Administrative Order No. 90 to provide direction and supervision in the implementation of this comprehensive strategy."

TING PASCUAL, <[email protected]>: "I have been asking for van dealers who have the capability to fabricate lifters to accommodate wheelchairs but have had no luck so far. I wonder if you have any information on this."

TITA P. ABELLANA, c/o University of San Carlos Girls High School, J. Alcantara St., Cebu City: "I applied for the old age pension of my late husband, SSgt. Faustino Alcoriza Abellana (Serial No. 501449). I followed up my application last April 3, 1999, and I was told to wait for my pension in Cebu City. Up to now, I have not received my pension. Please help me follow up my pension application."

Art A. Borjal e-mail address: <[email protected]>