Erap cannot question Pres. GMA's legitimacy

My heartfelt congratulations to a dear friend Dr. Roberto “Bobby” Aboitiz on the occasion of being honored by my alma mater, the University of San Jose-Recoletos the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science in Business Management in recognition for his invaluable contributions to business and humanitarian endeavors. I know Sir Bobby too well that he really isn’t comfortable when people give him their accolades and adulation. But there comes a time in your life where you must stand up and be counted for what you fought and stood for in all those years of hard work.

That Sir Bobby was given this recognition by USJR comes from his passion to find better ways to do things. His idea of achieving our national goals which he dubs the “Bugsay Principle” has inspired many Cebuanos to strive for excellence as the Aboitiz logo declares “Passion for better ways”. His work at the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) tells us that this businessman has a big heart; obviously he got the DNA of his grandfather Don Ramon Aboitiz.

As US President Woodrow Wilson once quipped, “You are not here merely to make a living; you are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” So congratulations again to Sir Bobby and the Aboitiz family for this great honor bestowed to one of the greatest Cebuanos I have ever known.

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I’m glad that former Cebu City Councilor Hilario “JunJun” Davide III responded against the tirades done by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada against his father former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. that these accusations weren’t new and it was a mere rehash of the impeachment attempt against Davide when he was in the Supreme Court. Now the ball is in the hands of Sen. Estrada to prove his accusations. This is truly the problem with our Senators having a privilege speech; it is a right to condemn anyone without fear of being libeled because it is done in a Senate in a circus atmosphere.

Meanwhile, it is more than obvious to me that Sen. Jinggoy is trying to resurrect an old issue that then Chief Justice Davide gave the oath of office to then Vice-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when there was no vacancy in the Office of the President. What’s the real score here? What I do recall is that Erap left Malacañang in a huff, so he wasn’t physically in Malacañang, not to mention that he already lost almost all of his cabinet secretaries.

Like it or not, former Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada was deposed, tried and convicted of plunder. So even if he doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of GMA’s Presidency, the fact that he accepted her Presidential Pardon means a tacit recognition of her being the President; hence, Erap is in Estoppel if Sen. Jinggoy insists on resurrecting this issue.

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There is a public hearing today at the Cebu Provincial Board on the proposed ordinance entitled “An Ordinance mandating the use of the Cebuano (Bisaya) as the Basic Language of Learning and Medium of Instruction from Primary through High School based on the Framework prepared by the Department of Education per DepEd order no.74 Series of 2009. This is what is known as the “Multi-Lingual Education” (MLE) that has proven to improve the learning capabilities of our children. I saw this first hand in Cordova when Mayor Adelino Sitoy invited me to see his children in action.

I have always maintained that the subject that we have been taught in school called Pilipino didn’t add to our learning skills. But if children are taught their mother tongue, they react and understand quicker and better. However, while I embrace the MLE program, DepEd must make sure that our teachers know what to teach in Bisaya. It entails training the teachers first before they start teaching our pupils. Of course, after all this, our students must learn to speak good English so they can find work here or abroad. After all, learning the Tagalog language doesn’t give jobs to people.

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It was a fun night during the launching of Cathay Pacific’s new service between Hong Kong and Russia using an Airbus A340-300 aircraft. Cathay Pacific’s Cebu Manager Camilla Taylor replicated the July 13th ribbon cutting ceremony done at the Domodedovo International Airport, though in a small way at the Gustavian Restaurant. The invited guests were greeted by one of her staff wearing a traditional Russian costume carrying a loaf of bread. It is a Russian tradition called Bread and Salt as their gesture of hospitality.

On hand to grace the affair was Russian Honorary Consul Ms. Armi Garcia and Tanya (I’m sorry, I just couldn’t pronounce her family name) of the Russian Consulate. Thanks to Cathay Pacific, Cebu is just a flight from here to Hong Kong then off to Moscow, on of the great cultural cities of the world.