A man named Ben Cariño

Scandals make the headline, as did the charge that the construction of 2.3 km of the 5.1 km Diosdado Macapagal Blvd. on reclaimed land in Pasay City had been overpriced by P600-million.The Public Estates Authority (PEA), which had contracted the project, has of course been embattled, as newspapers called it. The headline stories roared for days, and yesterday’s said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had designated the Public Works Secretary to take over the functions of board chairman Ernest Villareal and general manager Benjamin Cariño.

I became particularly interested in the case because Ben Cariño has been a good friend from way back when, and I will not believe that he had a hand in the anomaly – if that is indeed proven by government investigators. Ben’s name had not been dragged into the fray, and the media has not singled him out as liable for complicity, but friends have called me to say that there is apprehension that he could be made to account for his having signed checks for the implementation of the project.

Friends of Ben and his wife Ledy have been e-mailing their support for Ben. The STAR’s own columnist, of the respected Pulse Asia, wrote the couple this message:

"Dear Ledy and Ben,

"I would like you to know that from the very first I distrusted the media (dis)information linking Ben with this issue. Like so many others in our community,

Ben and you have lived in such a way as to make incredible the insinuations that could only come from the definitely malicious and politically partisan creatures in our midst.

"Being myself victimized by people with political agendas, I think I know how you must be suffering this undeserved turn of events. With people who have asked me my opinion on this matter, I have unqualifiedly expressed my trust in the decency of Ben and even pointed out that with a wife like you, Ledy, there is hardly a chance of a good man going wrong.

"In the end, truth wins out and so the only challenge now is for us to remain strong in our knowledge of what is true." – Pepe Miranda.

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Another person who knows the couple well expressed his thoughts thus: "I’m 100 percent sure that Manong Ben is incorruptible. Fight! ! ! And stay strong. We’re with you."

Nenette Bacani wrote: "Even without full knowledge of the arithmetic of the Macapagal Boulevard, I never for a moment doubted the integrity of Ben. I’m sure the truth will prevail."

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Let me tell you where Ben came from. His father, Maximino Carino Sr. was a lay pastor of the United Methodist Church in Pangasinan, and served as dean of the San Jose Colleges in Nueva Ecija, and his mother, Paz Vergara Carino, was active in the Methodist women’s circles until her 70s.

His wife, Ledivina Vidallon Cariño, has been a university professor (highest rank in the University of the Philippines system), and is currently with the National College of Public Administration and Governance, UP.

The Cariños' son, Benjamin Jr., is a business systems consultant with the Ayala Systems Technology Institute, and daughter Hiyasmin Ledi, is human resources officer of Campus Ventures in Manchester, England.

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Ben has a bachelor of arts in public administration in 1963 from the UP, and his master’s and PhD in political science from Indiana University, in 1968-70, respectively.

Ben went up the ranks from research assistant at the Philippine Executive Academy to assistant professor, Institute of Planning (now SURP), to professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning, UP.

He was a senior fellow at the East west Center, University of Hawaii, and Philippine project leader of a seven-year migration project of the Population Institue, EW. He was visiting professor at the University of California at LA for only one quarter, as he did not want to leave the Philippines for longer, in 1990.

Ben served as SURP dean for three terms, 1992-2001, during which urban planning was recognized as a profession. He was with the joint graduate program with the University of Dortmund (Germany) and SURP, the first joint international program of the state university, during which time the SURP curriculum was revised, and urban and regional planning became a system academic program and expanded to UP Baguio, UP Visayas, and UP Mindanao.

He served as chair of the church council of the Church of the Risen Lord, which is based in the UP Diliman campus.

You and I know that so many good men and women in government have been charged falsely and maliciously, even yanked out of office or resigned because they could not stomach the hostile environment they found themselves in. I hope this column will clarify in the minds of readers and officials concerned that Ben is intellectually and morally upright.

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My friends who have been suffering from bouts with arthritis will be glad to know that they can find relief in a new drug, Celecoxib-a Cox-2 whose efficacy, tolerability and upper gastrointestinal safety profile is better than the traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This finding was published recently in the British Medical journal.

A systematic review of data from 15,172 patients concluded that Celecoxib is as effective as other non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs for relief symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatic arthritis.

Pfizer Limitd and Pharmacia Limited are pleased with the research findings, says Roy Sutherwood on behalf of the companies.