What's all the fuss about?

First of all, let me tick off a few very important announcements. Tomorrow, January 12, at 4:30 p.m., Jose "Dodong" R. Gullas will lead the opening rites for the Halad Museum at the old Freeman building at V. Gullas corner D. Jakosalem Streets.

The Halad Museum, officially called "Ang Tipiganan sa mga Handumanan sa Kanta ug Kinaiyang Sugbuanon," is being dedicated by Sir Dodong to his parents, the late Don Vicente Gullas and Inday Josefina "Pining" Rivera Gullas.

As the official name suggests, the museum will house artifacts, memorabilia, and other items associated with the long and colorful musical and social traditions of Cebu and Cebuanos that they may be preserved and prevented from sliding into forgetfulness and oblivion.

The following day, Wednesday, January 13, at 8 p.m. at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Lahug, Sir Dodong is presenting a fitting followup to the museum opening by staging a Halad concert featuring Pilita, Dulce, Raki Vega, and the world-renowned UV Chorale.

These high-caliber Cebuano performers will be singing great classic Cebuano songs whose composers will be acknowledged and honored during the night, as well as some of their own choice selections of favorite Cebuano songs. Tickets are available at UV and The Freeman.

On Friday, January 15, at noon at the Ecotech Center in Lahug, past and present staff members of The Visayanian, the official student publication of the University of the Visayas, are being called to their annual grand reunion and get-together.

Lawyer Eddie Barrita, the bureau chief of the Philippines News Agency in Cebu and president of the Visayanian Staffers Alumni Association, is encouraging all past and present Visayanian staffers to attend the affair.

As had been the tradition the last few years with himself at the helm, Eddie is promising lots of fun and surprises the whole afternoon, of course in addition to the tons of food and overflowing drinks that Visayanians are known to relish, along with their singing skills.

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Finally, the bill carving out a new Banawa-Englis barangay out of Guadalupe has been signed by President Arroyo. What now remains is for the people in the affected areas to approve or disapprove the split in a referendum.

Officials of Guadalupe, bruited to be the largest barangay in the country in terms of population, have vowed to fight for the disapproval of the split. That is understandable. A split necessarily means losses for those who used to hold sway in the original jurisdiction.

Those who break off from the main, however, are fired up by hope and promise. That is always the general feeling for those striking off in a new direction. The problem is whether the hopes and promises will bear fruit to match the expectations.

 I do not wish to be the killjoy here. But while I have no specific feeling about either the immensity of Guadalupe or the right of others to strike out on their own, I believe that one or the other will not bring about any significant difference.

Guadalupe as it is now, for better or for worse, will still be the same Guadalupe tomorrow regardless of whether the split eventually gets approved or not. By the same token, Banawa-Englis, if it comes to be, will be no different from any another barangay in existence.

This splitting of Guadalupe is no different from those other initiatives to create new congressional districts or provinces or the conversion of towns into cities. Except for changes in name and financial structures, everything will still be part of old familiar Philippines.

And old familiar Philippines is where nothing significant ever happens if that significance has anything to do with the betterment and advancement of lives. What does continuously happen is the degradation of all that is good and right, and depreciation of life.

That is why I have often wondered what the fuss was all about regarding the split of Banawa-Englis from Guadalupe. If at all, the fuss will be about which old and new political leaders, and their supporters, will emerge and claim the booty that is not theirs but ours.