Feel-good news

Amid the pall and gloom being spewed by Mt. Mayon’s latest eruption in Albay, we find comfort in seeing bright spots in otherwise dark skies in the horizon.

There are many little things that we sometimes ignore. But if we only stop and pause for a while and take a closer look, you will be surprised there are many of these little things to be thankful for.

This I experienced last Sunday in our “Simbang Gabi” celebrated by no less than our Bishop Jesse Mercado of Parañaque City. It became a special occasion for Bishop Mercado because a new shepherd of the Catholic Church would undergo his acceptance rites as a priest. The Vatican declared the year 2009 as the year of priesthood. At the end of every mass, we would say the prayer for the priests and ask for Divine guidance to encourage more young men to pursue priesthood as a vocation. So it became a celebration of sorts for our congregation when a new priest took his formal acceptance into the priesthood. It was for all of us an answer to our community prayer.

After the mass, my twin boys requested that we take our Sunday family breakfast at the President Avenue where the commercial area in our neighborhood at BF Homes is located in Parañaque City. While we’re trying to look for a space to park, we discovered that a new restaurant Café Via Mare was being opened that day. Curious about the newest place for family breakfast, we went to check the menu. To our delight, they offer typical dawn mass breakfast fare like bibingka and puto bumbong with hot chocolate, coffee or tea.

The owners came to our table to check our first impression and experience about the food and the service at their newly opened business.

As a journalist, of course, I could not help but turn the table on them and asked them questions instead. Christine Sicam-Roño introduced herself as the franchisee of the Cafe Via Mare. Her husband is related to Glenda Barretto, the Via Mare owner who started their family restaurant business in 1975. To date, I was told, there are 15 outlets of Via Mare and its original place is still operating in Greenbelt, Makati City. And the Cafe Via Mare in Paranaque City is their latest one.

It is feel-good news that there are still people like Christine who invests into new ventures while others hold back and sit it out until the global financial crisis is over. What we saw this year was a lot of buy-outs among big businesses like San Miguel Corp. buying into Meralco. It was indeed a refreshing news for me to see small and medium enterprises like those put up by the couple that provide gainful jobs for some unemployed Filipinos. 

Christine and her husband are undaunted by the challenge of the global financial crisis and pushed the envelope. “We really have to bite the bullet,” Christine said when I pressed her what made them make a go of their newest venture. Christine’s Café Via Mare has lots of other competitors in that commercial area in BF Homes like Pancake House, Starbucks, Greenwich, and Conti’s. “With hope and lots of prayers, we can make it,” Christine quipped with determination.

Our table chat strayed into what future lies ahead for small and medium business entrepreneurs like them. Christine expressed the wish that “our country’s next president would be a leader with a vision.” So far, she said, she has yet to hear from any presidential aspirant his vision for the Philippines.

The sentiments of Christine inspired me while I was writing the prayer that I was assigned to lead for the Christmas party of The STAR that we had at The Tent of Sofitel Hotel in Roxas Boulevard last Monday night. I would like to share excerpts of my prayer as follows:

“Dear Father, as we rejoice on this very special occasion in Christendom, we also reflect on the most recent series of unfortunate events that have befallen our Filipino brothers and sisters. Many of them, including some of our fellow STAR troopers, fell victim to the severe flooding and landslides brought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng one after the other in Metro Manila and other parts of our country.

These natural calamities, however, tested our faith and strengthened our resolve as Christian brothers and sisters to assist one another during times of crisis. Our own Philippine STAR DAMAYAN led no less by STAR President and CEO Miguel G. Belmonte went out of their way to extend helping hands and provide succor to the most needy ones because there were just too many, given the magnitude of the calamity.

We are grateful though to the generous and limitless outpouring of donations of rice, canned goods, and other foodstuff and clothing that were turned over to us by institutional and individual donors, many of whom trusted us that their donations will reach the calamity victims but wanted to remain anonymous. We are also thankful to the volunteer STAR Troopers who went out on a limb to go to these calamity areas to deliver relief goods.

From natural disasters, we were shocked by man-made horror in the massacre of 57 men and women who were slaughtered by hired goons in Maguindanao last Nov. 23. We continue to pray for divine justice for these innocent souls who perished from such heartless carnage that took place at the start of the election period in our country.

We implore our Almighty God that such ruthlessness will not be repeated as Philippine elections in May 2010 draw near.

Just as the year is about to end, our brothers and sisters in Bicol are being threatened by the possible eruption of Mayon Volcano. We join their fervent prayers that they be spared from this brewing calamitous event.

While we may be far from Bicol where Mt. Mayon is, we are aware our God, that these natural calamities add to our worries about climate change and its impact on planet earth you have given us to live in.

Finally, we profusely thank you Dear God for the blessings you continue to pour on us at The Philippine STAR to surmount the challenge of the global financial crisis.

We thus leave our fate in your guiding hands Almighty God, the Father just as Your only Son, Jesus, gave his before dying on the cross.

We profess anew our abiding faith in the infinite wisdom of our Almighty God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.”

Merry Christmas to one and all.