Viva! Las Vegas!

For tonight's special presentation on Straight from the Sky, we bring you a Man for All Seasons, a man who held privileged positions no one has held. I'm referring to our good friend, Mr. Angelo Verdan, who worked with Philippine Airlines (PAL) for most of his life, until he retired. One would think that retirement would mean the end of work. But this is not the case for Angie Verdan, he and his partners ventured into a new industry, which is now the Cable tv industry where years later, only SkyCable remains in Cebu City.

A few years ago, Angie was appointed as General Manager of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) but he did not last long there because of problems with the Civil Service Commission (CSC). We thought Angie would finally retire after his stint in Mactan. But apparently God had other plans for him as he eventually landed as the General Manager of the Cebu Port Authority (CPA). From the airlines to the air lanes and cable tv, Angie has done what few individuals could only dream they could.

The secret is out, Angie Verdan was one of those responsible for the creation of Cebu's longest running television talkshow, Straight from the Sky, which is on our 7th year. So we turn the tables on him and feature him as the man for all seasons. Watch this show on SkyCable's channel 15 at 8:00 pm.

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Las Vegas, Nevada: We're in Las Vegas with my cousin, Archt. Jose Mari Cañizares and my daughter Katrina to attend the ShoWest Annual Convention of the National Association of Theater Owners of America (NATO). This is America's largest gathering of theater owners and operators that brings a yearly attendance of some 4,000 delegates including some 500 international delegates. I will write more about this very interesting subject in our next columns since Filipinos are addicted to movies, just like most Americans are.

We took PAL PR-102 last Mar.10th and got in still on a Saturday. There is something about our Flag carrier that gives Filipinos an uncanny experience that you really haven't left the Philippines until you get out of the PAL 747-400. That's exactly how I felt, given the superb attention that the PAL flight attendants gave us. But while the flight was comfortable and uneventful, we had to change to another airline in LAX on our last leg to Las Vegas. We were supposed to take America West, which recently merged with US Air. This was where the trouble started. It took more than an hour to clear US Immigration, we should have missed our flight to Vegas. But America West Flt. 117 was delayed.

When we got into the counter, we were the first to check in. Perhaps most of the passengers found other ways to go to Vegas. We were only five people on board this flight. When we arrived at the McCarran International Airport, we went straight to the baggage claim and discovered that one of my bags was missing. After about an hour of searching for it, I lined up to the US Air desk to lodge my complaint. It took two days for the airline to bring my bag to the house of my cousin, Dr. Jonathan Reboton. He kidded me that I just lost US$ 3,000, which the airline people said they would have paid me for the lost luggage.

On Sunday, we went to Holy Mass at the St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Henderson, very close to the residence of the Rebotons. This is the church I always go when I'm in Vegas. I'm just amazed by the remarkable audience participation of the American Catholics during the Mass. They loudly, not just murmur the answers to the prayers of their Parish Priest Fr. Patrick Render C.S.V. Their services are also very similar to the Charismatic groups, where they hold hands when they pray the Our Father, which I'm sure, Mgsr. Achilles Dakay would find quite discomforting.

Most of us are Catholic since birth, but it was the first time I saw the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA) where Catechumens were presented before the parishioners and accepted as new Catholics! I have never seen this happen in very Catholic Philippines because the Catholic Church relies on our growing population to increase the number of Catholics.

In America, where Catholicism is the fastest growing religion, they have to compete with other Christian faiths. The Catholic Clergy have to do more to defend their faith than our clergy in the Philippines.

This is why on the foyer of St. Thomas More Catholic Church you will see colored brochures on Catholic teaching. Here's a few examples, "How to Observe Lent as a Catholic" or "How to Celebrate Holy Week". Then there's a brochure on "Islam, a Catholic Perspective" and one entitled, "The Way of the Cross with Pope Benedict XVI." Let me say that these pamphlets or brochures give Catholics an insight of Catholic Doctrine. While we do have our "Ang Lungsuranon" in Cebu, there's still a lot for Catholics to learn about their faith. This is where American Catholics have a better edge than us.