SOS from Bishop Varela - JAYWALKER by Art A. Borjal

Peter Wallace, president of the prestigious EIU (The Economic Intelligence Unit), sent to me the results of the latest Quarterly PCUP Perceptions Survey on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s government and issues involving the political and economic situation in the Philippines. Let me share the results of the survey, which was conducted among foreign and local executives of multinationals, with Jaywalker readers.

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On President GMA’s early performance:

* Inadequate - 2.2 percent
* Trying hard but not making it - 6.7 percent
* Reasonable performance, so far - 68.9 percent
* Doing well, so far - 22.2 percent

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Likely scenario for GMA’s administration:

* Major change for the better - 24.4 percent
* Slow/steady improvement - 66.7 percent
* Muddling through - 6.7 percent
* Crisis to crisis –
* Social unrest - 2.2 percent
* Major destabilization –

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Impression of GMA since she came to power:

* Improved - 71.1 percent
* Not changed - 28.9 percent
* Worsened –

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Do you think President Estrada will be:

* Convicted and jailed - 24.4 percent
* Convicted but pardoned - 31.1 percent
* Acquitted - 2.2 percent
* No conclusion - 35.6 percent
* Can’t say - 6.7 percent

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Will your company change its plans for the Philippines, not that the government has changed?

* Yes - 38.6 percent
* No - 61.4 percent

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Please prioritize the following issues as to what are the most important deterrents to operating in the Philippines:

1. Inefficient infrastructure
2. Corruption
3. Convoluted bureaucracy
4. "Crony" competition
5. Dealing with the court system
6. High cost
7. Rigid labor environment
8. Crime
9. Slow processing of goods
10. Unfair competition
11. Land ownership
12. Small market
13. Obsolete plants
14. Globalization

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What are your company’s priority countries for investment?

1. China
2. Philippines
3. Malaysia
4. Thailand
5. Australia
6. Taiwan
7. Singapore
8. India
9. Indonesia
10. South Korea
11. Japan
12. Hong Kong

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About ten years ago, I wrote about a young seminarian in Leyte, who was in the throes of death, because of a kidney disorder. Upon the urgent appeal of the Rector of the Franciscan seminary where the young man, Jerome Angulo, was studying, I wrote about his plight, about the despair and hopelessness of his poor family, about his deep desire to become a priest. Jerome’s story is written in my book, Walking Through the Pathways of Life, which is available in many National Book Stores throughout the country.

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Two years later, I wrote a story about another dying seminarian from Capiz, John Azarcon, who also badly needed a kidney transplant. John’s plight was brought to my attention by an Ateneo schoolmate, businessman Antonio Ortiz from Roxas City, and by the rector of the seminary in Iloilo City where John was studying to become a parish priest.

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Through the help of hundreds of Good Samaritans from far and wide, I was able to bring Jerome Angulo and John Azarcon to Quezon City, to have their kidney transplants at the National Kidney Institute where the great surgeon, Dr. Enrique Ona, in collaboration with Dr. Filoteo Alano, opened up their bodies and gave them a second life. Today, Fr. Jerome is a Franciscan missionary, while Fr. John, an archdiocesan priest based in Roxas City, is in Rome. John’s story is also included in my book, Walking Through the Pathways of Life.

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I am writing about Fr. Jerome and Fr. John because of a similar urgent appeal from Bishop Jesus Y. Varela, D.D., the Roman Catholic Bishop of Sorsogon. Bishop Varela is interceding for his own seminarian, Abraham "Bambet" B. Mirandilla, who has already finished his theological studies and is all set to be ordained as a deacon. Sadly and tragically, the young seminarian’s entry to the priesthood is now on hold because he, too, just like Fr. Jerome and Fr. John, is afflicted with kidney failure.

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As reported to me by Bishop Varela, Bambet’s condition has turned from bad to worse, and the young seminarian is now forced to undergo dialysis twice a week in Manila. Fortunately, there is a kidney donor, the sister of a Jesuit priest, who seems to have been sent by God to enable Bambet to have a second life.

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The problem, though, is the big cost of undergoing a kidney transplant, including the pre-surgery and post-transplant expenses. Bambet’s family is not rich, and much has already been spent for his weekly dialysis sessions. While Bishop Varela has appealed to his priests in the diocese of Sorsogon to help raise the amount needed by Bambet, the money raised is far from the financial target.

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"May I appeal to you to help save Bambet’s life? I am counting on the hope that you could refer me or seminarian Bambet to certain people who have compassion for cases like this. Whatever amount they can share will not merely give back to Bambet his life but eventually, they are helping make him become a priest for God and His people. A medical problem like what Bambet is suffering from is never an impediment for ordination or reception of the Sacred Orders. And it is my sincere hope that with help from people like you, he will recover his health I can proceed to ordain him and he will be one of God’s servants in the priesthood soon," said Bishop Varela.

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The young seminarian is so near the threshold of becoming a priest. If his life is saved, I am sure Bambet will become, just like Fr. Jerome and Fr. John, a worthy servant of God. For Good Samaritans who wish to participate in this lofty mission of turning a young man into a priest, please contact Alex Dinoy of the Good Samaritan Foundation, at telephone numbers 716-1399 and 716-1499, or at Unit 1-J RM Arcade, 80 Ramon Magsaysay Blvd., Quezon City, right beside UERM Memorial Medical Center. Thanks a million, and God bless!

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My e-mail address: [email protected]