We shall overcome

Another Lenten season has come to pass, and we are another year away from Holy Week of 2001. Hopefully, despite the hard and harsh times that we are going through, we shall be able to move on, with wind beneath our wings, and attain our own personal goals and reach our destination.

I am optimistic that we as a people will be able to weather the storms that have buffeted us during the past several years. For there are many fortunate and blessed among us who have hearts of gold, and who know how to share their bounty with the less fortunate in life. I have personally seen the fount of goodwill and charity that lies deep in the minds of hearts of many Filipinos. Yes, there are many Filipinos, most of them faceless strangers, who yen to share their blessings with those who have no one to depend on. This well of love and sharing is the anchor for my optimism that we shall overcome.

It is sad that only after teenager Rudy Geronimo, contaminated by toxic waste from Subic Naval Base, died did the nation take note of the pain and anguish he went through, as he fought his battle against leukemia. Sadder still is the fact that days after he was buried, we are still trying to raise the amount to pay off the debts incurred from his burial.

Lawyer Antonio "Atty. AGA" Arellano, who is deeply involved in servicing the public through his regular legal service program over DZXL, asked me to help clear up the name of Undersecretary Benjamin B. Domingo, in charge of migrant workers affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs, concerning a "poison letter" being circulated by some faceless people. According to Atty. AGA, Usec Domingo is a dedicated servant of great integrity, a man who would not sully his name with any wrongdoing.

Atty. AGA sent to me a certification from the Philippine National Bank that Usec Domingo does not have and never had, any dollar bank account at the PNB, as alleged in the poison letter. Tony Arellano surmised that the reason why Usec Domingo is the object of the poison pen was his role in the issuance of a Philippine passport to then Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco during the tenure of President Aquino. "Usec Domingo is apparently the victim of character assassination perpetuated by anti-Danding forces with the DFA," Atty. AGA said.

PULSEBEAT: For those who sent queries on where to buy my book, Walking Through the Pathways of Life, copies are available at all National Bookstore branches in Metro Manila, and also at NBS branches at Subic Freeport, Mango Avenue and Ayala Center in Cebu City, Biñan in Laguna, and Imus and Bacoor in Cavite. The book, too, is on sale at La Solidaridad Publishing House at Padre Faura, Manila; Ateneo de Manila Alumni Affairs Office at Loyola Heights; and Powerbook branches at SM Megamall, Arnaiz, and Alabang Southmall... Foreign observers, bankers and investors in Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York and London are getting more and more concerned about the Philippine government. They do not think that a coup is inevitable, but they are not investing in the Philippine Stock Exchange... The Philippine peso is in danger of further devaluation. The recent bond float has enabled finance authorities to keep the peso relatively stable. But then, how long can the Bangko Sentral continue to prop up the peso? The question now is whether the peso will drop to 43-45 per US dollar... The PAREB-Quezon City Realtors Board will conduct a "Comprehensive Real Estate Seminar and Review on May 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17 and 19, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Kowloon House, West Avenue, Quezon City. The seminar is in preparation for the DTI's licensing exam on May 28. For details, call the QCRB secretariat at 448-6812, Realtor Echel Viray at 911-6883, Liza Prudente at 426-5385 or Nen Monteverde at 412-2459.

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