I remember Vice-Pres. Salvador "Doy" Laurel

Today is the 5th anniversary of the death of my dear friend, Vice-President Salvador “Doy” Laurel whose contribution to the nation should never be forgotten. He unified the opposition when he stepped aside and agreed to have Corazon “Cory” Aquino, the widow of the slain Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. run for President against the well-entrenched Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos under the banner of his own political party, the United Nationalists Democratic Organization (UNIDO). This was the only political party I joined in 1985, thanks to the invitation of then Atty. Raul Gonzales currently our Department of Justice (DoJ) Secretary.

UNIDO was actually an umbrella organization of other then opposition parties like the mainstream Liberal Party (LP) then led by Sen. Jovito Salonga, the National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD) of Sen. Raul Manglapus, the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan of Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. the Philippine Democratic Socialist Party (PDSP) and local groups like the Mindanao Alliance, the Muslim Federal Party and our very own Pusyon Bisaya that overwhelming won a stunning victory for the Batasan Pambansa against the monolith Kilusang ng Bagong Lipunan (KBL) the political wing of the conjugal Marcos Dictatorship.

Whenever Doy Laurel would come to Cebu, we would always hold many meetings at the Presidential Suite of the old Cebu Plaza Hotel. I wasn’t involved with media yet, but I already got a lot of inside stories of the goings on in the national capital region. When the EDSA Revolt was won, it was Vice-President Doy who insisted that Pres. Cory’s administration should be under a duly accepted Philippine Constitution. He opted for a return to the tried and tested 1935 Constitution.

Unfortunately, Tita Cory’s “inner circle” had other plans, to create the present Cory Constitution without going through a Constitutional Convention or a Constituent Assembly (con-ass). Thus we ended with the current 1987 Constitution that badly needs to be amended. Though she came from a political family, Cory was dubbed as “Talagang walang alam.” She succumbed to the wishes of her advisers and spurned Doy Laurel. If the Philippines is still having troubles today, it is because Tita Cory refused to heed to the brilliance of her Vice-President. This is why I will never forget Vice-President Doy Laurel and his contribution to Philippine politics.

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The Chinese New Year of the Ox has barely begun and a news report coming from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) was “RP Eyes Obama as Savior of OFWs.” OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon told reporters, “We are hoping that there would be new policies that would help hasten migration, particularly for professional in the health sector from the US.” This is giving too much hope on a Pres. Obama. So if he fails, OWWA can pin the blame on him as to why our doctors and nurses cannot work in the US?

That Filipinos workers and professionals abroad are losing jobs because of the shrinking economy is something we have to live with for the next few years. Making public statements like this is unnecessary given the realities that Pres. Obama has to prioritize Americans, because their economy too has began to shrink. No doubt, Filipino nurses are well-trained and better suited for the American health industry for as long as Americans shy away from this job opportunity. However, things could change for Americans and many of them might just take up nursing, which is after all a very well-paying job in the US.

America’s military establishment is an all-volunteer Armed Force; yet because of the dire economic situation, never have the US Armed Services experienced a surplus of Americans volunteering to work in the Armed Forces because other jobs are just not available.

What OWWA should be doing is match jobs and skills in places here at home that can be filled with OFWs who are going home because they just lost their jobs abroad, rather than wishing that America would provide those jobs for Pinoys. It is the Year of the Ox, which means, hard work for all of us, so OWWA ought to work hard on finding jobs here at home, rather than look for the easy way out, by letting America absorb our nurses.

My daughter Katrina is a registered nurse. Since we don’t want to send her to the Middle East and since there are no jobs available in America, she’s now in Manila studying in a culinary school, as cooking is her first love. We’re not waiting for America to open their doors for our nurses; we’ll find other jobs that are available in the job market. That’s what OWWA should be doing!