Justice for a grieving mother

In July 2005, Ms. Lucila Cabili Cebedo received a notice from the Supreme Court quoting its en banc resolution dated June 7, 2005, directing the Clerk of Court to inform Ms. Cebedo on the status of her complaint.

The resolution said: "A.M. No. 04-7-08-SC.-Re: alleged Fake Order of the Second Division in G.R. No. 147273.-Acting on the Letter dated 22 February 2005 of Lucila Capili Cebedo, the Court Resolved to direct Clerk of Court Luzviminda D. Puno to inform Ms. Cebedo of the status of this administrative matter." Puno, J., on official leave. (126)"

Today, nine months after her receipt of the notice, no other information was received by Ms. Cebedo as to the outcome of her complaint against Rey Yap, who had faked a Supreme Court Order sometime in May 2004 for him to be able to go home and campaign in the municipality of Sapang Dalaga in Zamboanga del Norte.

As a backgrounder, Rey Yap had been convicted for masterminding the murder of Ms. Cebedo’s son, Victorio C. Cebedo, which case is still under review by the Supreme Court. Rey Yap is also the main suspect in the murder of her other son, Mayor Perfecto C. Cebedo, which case is still pending preliminary investigation in the Department of Justice.

In her letter to Chief Justice Panganiban, Ms. Cebedo wrote: "I am wondering why, up to now, no punishment of any sort was given to Rey Yap for his condemnable act of faking a Supreme Court Order. Also Rey Yap must be punished for deceiving his custodians/guards in the New Bilibid Prisons whom he tricked by using the faked Supreme Court Order in allowing him to go home with guards from the New Bilibid Prisons and National Bureau of Investigation at the expense of the government.

"Please, your honor, give justice to the undersigned grieving mother of two sons who had been murdered by the same mastermind by resolving this administrative matter the soonest possible time."

I hope the High Tribunal will follow up on this poor mother’s plea for justice.

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A SUMMER intensive peacebuilding and reconciliation training program will be held May 3 to 14 at the La Salette Shrine in Silang, Cavite. Funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Program and the German International Capacity-building organization (InWEnt), the conference will present modules on various aspects of peace work, alternative dispute resolution, mediation, negotiation, active non-violence, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

Hildegard Goss-Mayer, Austrian President Emeritus of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, will lead one of the modules.

Trainers include Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ, DD; Bishop Edgardo Juanich, DD; Wendy Kroeker and Jonathan Rudy of the Mennonite Central Committee; Susan May Granada of the Nonviolent Peaceforce-Sri Lanka Field Team; Pete Hammerle of the Austrian Fellowship of Reconciliation; Alim Elias Macarandas of the Bishop-Ulama Conference; Annabelle Abaya of the GRP Peace Panel for talks with the CNN, and Marites Guingona-Africa of the United Religions Initiative and Peacemakers’ Circle.

Other speakers will be Cesar Villanueva of Pax Christi Pilipinas; Rebecca Capulong of the Silliman University Peace Resource Center; Mike Alar of PIDO-OPAPP; Marides Virola-Gardiola and Maria Lourdes Aseneta, both private consultants and members of Brahma Khumaris.

This first Annual Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Program is the offshoot of a consultation process among mentors from the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) and the Catholic Relief Services.

According to Chito Generoso, while conflict transformation and peacebuilding efforts have achieved significant strides in Mindanao, "It is apparent that the same efforts must be taken to address the issues of the 60-year armed insurgency elsewhere in the Philippines.

"Transforming armed conflict and unceasingly encouraging conflicting parties never to resort to arms, assassinations, illegal arrests and detentions, dispersals and other forms of violence are only half the goal of the initiative," says Chito. "We must believe that lasting solutions can only be achieved through serious negotiations, one careful step at a time, and protracted over a number of years."

For more information, write to [email protected] or [email protected].

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FROM MY GOOD FRIEND Dhimaya, in California, comes this wonderful story that should lift our spirits. Here’s the story, entitled "Rose at College."

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose."

"I am 87 years old. Can I give you a hug?’

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" And she gave me a giant squeeze.

Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age," I asked. She jokingly replied, "I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids …"

"No, seriously," I said. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education, and now I’m getting one," she told me.

After class we walked to the Student Union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this ‘time machine’ as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.

She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her by the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.

I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three-by-five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me. I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing."

"There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

"We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it!

"There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

"If you are 19 years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t’ do one productive thing, you will turn 20 years old. I am 87 years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn 88.

"Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take away any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

"The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

Over 2,000 college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.

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My e-mail:[email protected]