Job Tabada, a very good friend and highly esteemed media colleague, has passed away. He seemed to be in a hurry to leave. But he left a beautiful legacy: A Job well done.
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Job Tabada was one media worker I had, and still have, the highest respect for. He was not a bothersome person. He once told me: “Nong Nito, I have many problems in my life ...” But Job never was a problem to anyone.
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I just learned from Rene “Renbor” Borromeo, a “stablemate” in the Philippine Star Group of Publications, that just a few days before Job died he was with a group of local mediamen who went to Taipei, which made his (Job’s) demise even more shocking. This has given substance to the saying: “Here today, gone tomorrow.”
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Job is survived by his wife Anecita and children Jobannie, Herald and Free... to whom goes my sincere expression of sympathy. OK, Job, rest in peace.
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Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal has been appealing to the Mayor and the Governor to quit quarreling. He’s not alone. Many others, who we might call sensible members of our community, are making the same appel. “Sum-ol na kaayo oy,” said one reader. “It’s getting into many people’s nerves.”
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Come to think of it ... What has Cebu gained from the bickerings between the two leaders? Nothing. As one businessman told me: “Ang economic growth sa Cebu naapekted adversely ... Kun wa pa babagi sa City Hall ang mga proyekto sa Capitol dako na unta ang lakang nga naabot sa atong ekonomiya.”
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The same businessman said: “I am speaking of the economic project of the Capitol because there is no economic project by City Hall that the Capitol has blocked.”
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Did you know that more women (Pinays) than men are migrating overseas to work? This according to an article in the EU News, the magazine of the Delegration of the European Commission to the Philippines. The magazine said women accounted for 238,260 or roughly 75 percent of the total 317,680 new hires in 2006.
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This seems to indicate that our women are as eager to create a better life for their families as their menfolk. The sad thing about our women OFWs is that they are more vulnerable than our men to exploitation by abusive employers. Many Pinays have been sexual abused and many have ended up mentally sick.
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Bits and pieces from emails sent in by readers: US-based Cebuano Paul John Atienza says Barack Obama is getting a lot of flak because of his stand on abortion ... Mario Castillo (also Cebuano in the US) writes that nearly all Cebuanos he knew voted for John McCain ... And from Ernie de Pilar (Boholano in NY) comes this info that many Pinoys didn’t vote for Obama “kay may pagkahambugero.”
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Email: nitzjab@yahoo.com