To begin with the armed forces don’t usually follow the lead of retired old generals, especially a President who didn’t implement a P7.8 billion military "modernization" upgrade of our neglected, under-paid, equipment-starved army, navy and aircraftless PAF. Some people are still wondering where that fund went.
As for GMA having "stolen" the May 2004 elections, gee whiz. That’s an issue which should have been fought over and put to rest more than a year ago – let it now rest in peace with our hallowed dead whom we commemorate today and tomorrow.
Cory C. Aquino cries out that we want "the truth" to come out. Sus, we still haven’t gotten the truth about how our valuable buildings in the US, our priceless paintings and art treasures, Imeldific’s silver hoard, and many other items were sold at "fire sale" bargain basement prices or auctioned off for a song during the Cory Administration. Imagine seven marvelous Canaletto paintings of Venice being hastily and fast-break-fashion sold off to Italy – without bidding – along with 110 other Italian masters’ canvasses, for the ludicrously cheap price-tag of – gasp – $15 million! One Canalleto alone, on the market at Christie’s or Sotheby’s is worth $19 to $22 million at least.
The truth in this country has an expiry date and a short shelf life, but never an electoral protest, apparently.
So enough already. Time to get back to real work and the public welfare!
Then there was the stupid item which appeared, mea culpa, in this newspaper about former President Cory having been "demoted" to the Dignitaries Lounge of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA-1) last Friday (Oct. 28) when she left, with four companions, for New York via Seoul, aboard Korean Airlines flight 622. Normally, the news report noted, as an ex-President, she ought to be entitled to use the Presidential Lounge. The insinuation, obviously, was that a vengeful GMA had relegated Cory her Tormentor to the mere Dignitaries’ Lounge utilized by merely mortal VIPs.
I happened to fly in Saturday from Amsterdam and found a frantic text message from NAIA General Manager Alfonso Cusi asking if he could phone me to refute this claim.
Cusi showed me a letter signed by Brig. Gen. Jose Angel A. Honrado, AFP, the Military Assistant to the Former President Corazon C. Aquino, requesting "accommodation at the Dignitaries Lounge" and "access for the following persons and vehicles: SPO4 Melchor Mamaril, SPO4 Crispin Corpuz, Mr. Jaime dela Cruz, Mr. Teddy Lansangan (driver), Mr. Emory Mariano (driver). The vehicles itemized were Toyota Previa, white, 100 D.; Ford 150, white, WRS 523; and Hi-Ace, light green, UJR 812. General Honrado was very correct and precise in his listing, and he clearly asked for the "Dignitaries Lounge," not the President. So there. In fact, my own car was stopped by airport security guards and almost prevented from picking me up. But they finally let it in – after a brief "inquiry."
As for our news story it was a case, I trust, of sloppy reporting on our newspaper’s part – surely our reporter Rainier Allan Ronda wasn’t being malicious or bent on mischief.
Even in such seemingly petty and mundane matters, accuracy and truth must prevail.
The bombings which hit a bus and two markets thronged with thousands of holiday buyers are being claimed by an Islamic "pro-Pakistani" group dubbing itself Inquilab (Revolution) whose demand is that India withdraw from Kashmir and turn that Himalayan territory over to Pakistan instead. The group is reportedly an offshoot of the militant rebel organization Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In our own land, we have such aggressive terrorist movements, and three of the Valentine’s Day bombers, an Indonesian and two Filipino Abu Sayyaf riff-raff, have just been sentenced to death by the Makati City Regional Court. Their attack on a crowded bus in Makati had killed four commuters and wounded over 100 others. My advice is to get those murderers executed without delay, to serve notice to would-be bombers and cold-blooded murderers that we’re serious about demanding "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." Sad to say, however, with GMA herself bullied by the Church, the European Union, and other bleeding hearts into not executing anybody, even rapists, kidnappers, murderers and drug dealers, those three will die indeed – but of old age on Death Row. Or, by golly, they might "escape" or be allowed to waltz out of prison by "sleepy" guards, induced to doze off by a sedative of cash.
Diwali is supposed to be the most riotous and happy of all Hindu festivals, with a nightlong display of fireworks, illuminations, and general pageantry. By tradition, all homes in India are cleaned up and freshly painted to honor Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and the home, and everything bedecked with hundreds of oil lamp.
Now, sad to say, Kali the goddess of death is paramount in New Delhi. Holiday shopping turned into a nightmare last Saturday night for those who were in the vicinity of the bombs – and the "fireworks" were lethal.
In sum, terrorism never sleeps. And neither should we.
I’ve known Romy for many years, even when he was a young Commerce Attache in Tokyo. Since then, he’s had a long and distinguished career as Ambassador to Peru, accredited as well to Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia; Ambassador to The Netherlands (1992-1994); Ambassador to Germany, (1996-1999); Ambassador to Japan (1999-2001), then Ambassador to The Hague again (2002 to the present).
Romy was also our Consul General in New York City from 1994-1996.
There’s even a love story involved in how Romy met his beautiful wife, Dr. Azucena "Ennie" Lagumbay. In Tokyo, he had been alerted to the fact that the daughter of Senator Wenceslao Rancap Lagumbay was arriving, and could he "squire" her and show her around? It was love at first sight.
Dr. Azucena Lagumbay Arguelles, a doctor of medicine, has a private medical practice in dermatology in Mountain View, California. They have three grown-up children: Randolf, a Ph.D. candidate in Asian History at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); Rowena, who works at Creative Artists agency in Beverly Hills, Calif.; and Margarita, who is with the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) in New York City.
Romy himself has a Bachelor of Laws from the U.P., a Masters of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and a Certificate in International Marketing from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration (Boston, Mass.).
As I mentioned, we saw a group of pro-Palestinian Muslims staging a rally in one of The Hague’s most leafy parks – they were shouting slogans and damning Israel, etc.
The demonstration was "peaceful", perhaps because there were more policemen and policewomen present than demonstrators. The police, in their bright, luminous, olive-green vests and dark blue uniforms, stood respectfully but firmly to one side until the demonstrators, finding that not enough had arrived to join them in a march on Parliament, decided to disperse.
The policemen and policewomen on horseback had earlier galloped off. The remaining police officers, however, solemnly shook hands with the leaders of the demonstrators. Then the Muslims got into their Volkswagens, Audis and Mercedes Benzes and drove away. (There, they even use Mercedes Benzes as taxi-cabs anyway).
The Muslims in Holland, aware of Dutch resentment, have obviously become more mannerly and well-behaved – but don’t count on this attitude of tranquility remaining true. When they believe Allah "commands" it they’ll raise mayhem, I kid thee not.
As for the police, they’re called "Politie" and by gosh, from what I’ve seen – they’re polite. Until they catch you cheating on your taxes. In Holland, Tax Evasion is a graver crime than homicide.