An unheard of prisoner treaty with Spain?

For our special presentation on Straight from the Sky, we celebrate a milestone in one of Cebu’s major charismatic communities, the Bukas sa Loob sa Diyos Covenanted Community (BLD) which celebrates its 20th anniversary of Christian Discipleship in Cebu. I have been with BLD since 1997 when I joined the Sons of David, a branch of BLD that holds its weekly Monday morning mass. I joined mainstream BLD when I took my Marriage Encounter no.29 the following year. What a Damascus experience it has been for me.

To give the history of the BLD in Cebu, we have with us the people who started it, Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, Chairman on the Commission on Worship of the Cebu Archdiocese, Mrs. Cora Gochuico, and Mr. Efren Sarmiento who will give us an idea of how few people brought BLD from Manila. And like the proverbial mustard seed, how it has blossomed into a huge tree of covenanted Catholics that is it today. Watch this interesting show on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00pm tonight.

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If it is a holiday today, it is due to the declaration by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) of a National Day of Mourning in honor of Iglesia ni Cristo’s (INC) Executive Minister Eraño Manalo who will be buried today. INC’s Manalo led a very colorful life and because of the multitude of INC members, all Presidents of this country always asked for his advice practically on any subject matter. So we sympathize with our INC friends on the loss of their Executive Minister and may God rest his soul.

Incidentally the President also declared Sept. 21 as a holiday in observance of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. The Philippines is probably the only Catholic nation that also observes the important dates of the Muslim world. Finally, for Cebu alone, we have another holiday on Wednesday for it is the 131st birth anniversary of the late Commonwealth President Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. who was the youngest Speaker of the Assembly at the age of 29 and later helped bring independence to this archipelago.

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It was indeed a surprising headline from the Inquirer last Saturday that the Department of Justice (DoJ) had apparently approved the transfer of convicted rapist and murderer Francisco Juan “Paco” Larrañaga to a penal facility in Spain. I have known that when Paco was convicted of kidnapping and murdering the Chiong sisters (Jacqueline and Marijoy) together with his seven of his pals, efforts were made to secure his transfer via the European Union (EU). As expected, Thelma Chiong was as the report said, was “speechless with rage”. I don’t blame her. Even after those dramatic convictions, it didn’t bring back the body of the older sister Jacqueline.

Little do we know that there is apparently a RP-Spain Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement? As DoJ Secretary Agnes Devanadera confessed, “Ours is just a mechanical process, clerical at worst.” I fully agree that it is not the fault of DoJ, but this unheard of treaty with Spain. Perhaps it is time to look into this treaty that was proposed by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago. Come to think of it, Maid Miriam has been so vocal against the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) where the US Military has been of great assistance to our country, yet she has never blurted this prisoner exchange treaty with Spain. It kinda makes one suspicious of the motives behind it.

This news is good for Paco, but in truth, he is really transferring to a foreign land. While he is admittedly a Spanish citizen, he grew up in Cebu. Perhaps his only advantage is that, the Spanish prisons are better in taking care of its prisoners than what we have in Muntinlupa. But I’m sure that this is not the end of this story, because if I know Thelma Chiong, she won’t give up without a fight!

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I salute Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero for refusing to accept to be the vice-presidential running mate of Sen. Manuel Villar, despite the recent Social Weather Station (SWS) Surveys that showed that a Villar-Chiz tandem would be the top choice of the Filipino voter.

The reason Chiz gave was, “Given what I have seen and read about the allegations raised in the C-5 controversy, it seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. I cannot in conscience run with or under him.” Indeed, the C-5 issue might just derail the Presidential ambitions of Sen. Villar, who has not come clean until now.

While we’re on a cliff-hanger wait for Sen. Noynoy Aquino to emerge from his retreat and tell us whether he’ll run for President or not, a bigger news has overtaken events when 49 governors openly declared their support for the Presidential bid of Defense Sec. Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. When Noynoy decides, chances are, it will be from the Cojuangco family who will be the next President of his country!