Glo is world's No. 4 most powerful woman...lupig sila!

It's a bit late...but thanks to those who called up to greet us on our 86th year. I mean The Freeman's 86th year.

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During this paper's 86th anniversary, everyone from Sir Miguel Belmonte, president and CEO of The Philippine STAR Group of Publications, of which we are a part, down to the lowest man in the team, sported a red T-shirt. Our way of painting the town red!

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On August 23, Banat News, the Visayan daily I edit, will be 11 years old. It started from scratch. Now, it's up to scratch, so to speak.

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Banat News has been doing well in its relationship with readers and advertisers. There's mutual affection, nay, mutual scratching (here's that word again). We scratch their back, they scratch ours!

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Forbes, the prestigious business/financial magazine, has placed President Gloria Arroyo no No. 4 in its list of 100 most powerful women of the world. To quote one of my favorite readio stations: "Lupig sila!"

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Did you know that GMA is referred to as Bisaya in many Cebuano-speaking areas in Mindanao and in some parts of Western Visayas, especially Iloilo City? If so (yes, it's so, according to my source), I invite my favorite Visayan columnist Leo "Arangkada" Lastimosa of radio station dyAB in cheering GMA: "Abante Bisaya!"

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Seriously speaking now, I read in The STAR that the famous Makati Medical Center is losing. During the first five months of 2005, it has registered losses of P35 million. Its accumulated losses from 2002 to 2004 have reached P300 million! It seems that the many sick people in Makati haven't helped keep Makati Med comfortably afloat.

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While Makati Med has been losing, our Cebu Doctors University Hospital (just Cebu Doc to many) appears to be gaining. This is manifested by the impressive growth of the hospital that has set up satellite hospitals in areas heretofore unserved by modern hospital services. Cebu Doc should be congratulated for what it has been doing for the Cebuano community.

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Shorts: Now I know who Krsnaraja is. Been reading him in the Text Views column. I thought he was Hindu, but no. He's a Cebuano doctor friend of mine who's been reading this newspaper for decades...Thanks to Bobit Avila for the daily inspirational text messages he sends me. They help make my day.