Family reunions

Our extended family celebrated for three days of reunion starting with Dec. 23 at the Sampaguita Gardens, which also happens to be Marichu Perez-Maceda’s birthday.

Lechon, buko pandan and suman were the favorite dishes served.

Thirty grandchildren and cousins joined games which livened up the night.

My five sons rendered several songs to the delight of their relatives and friends.

Dec. 24th was a family reunion hosted by Atty. Howard Calleja and his wife, Marla, joined by their parents, Dr. Homobono Calleja and wife, Alma Maceda-Calleja, at his Makati condominium.

Favorite dish served was corned beef provided by Swiss Inn.

Dr. Calleja’s daughters came home – Alice from Switzerland; Arlene from Washington D.C.; and Dra. Anna from Toronto, Canada.

An anticipated mass was held at 5 p.m.

Christmas day was a lunch at my sister, Emma’s house, in Valle Verde. The menu was highlighted by Majestic Ham and Peking Duck from Gloria Maris.

In the evening of Dec. 25, my eldest son, Emmanuel and wife Lira hosted a dinner at Gloria Maris Greenhills with the usual lauriat-style, with their brothers, nephews and nieces in attendance.

The three-day celebration was the best we had in years with everybody in attendance, including Norma Maceda’s son, Fatso, who planed in from San Francisco.

We thank the Lord for making our family intact with no deaths this year.

Binay’s upswing

We thank Vice President Jojo Binay for greeting us on Christmas day.

He informed us that a new survey gave him a 39 percent preference in the 2016 presidential elections.

2015 is the informal start of the presidential campaign season. With the Papal Visit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, the main stories will no longer be any Senate investigations.

Note that Senator Antonio Trillanes got only 5 percent in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS), with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano getting only 3 percent.

Bad start

The Aquino administration is off to a bad start in 2015 as there is unanimous condemnation of the P11 base fare increase in Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 and Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 and 2 lines, with P1 charged per additional kilometer on Jan. 4.

Bayan Muna party-list Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate said they will seek a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court (SC) against the Department of Transportation and Communications’ (DOTC) implementation of the fare increases, which lacks due process and public hearing.

Colmenares said the P2 billion to be collected from the fare hikes will likely be used as additional pork barrel. He also stressed there is a need for the government to look into the operational costs of the MRT and LRT lines before proposing any increases, specifically on whether taxpayers are subsidizing debt incurred by the private consortium that built the MRT, resulting to excessive expenses and mismanagement of funds. 

 The Palace has no reservations of imposing such fare increases to subsidize the improvements in the MRT and LRT system, but they can splurge to buy out the MRT in the amount of P54 billion instead of using the money to improve its services, Colmenares criticized.

He added that mass transits are a public service, not a burden to the people.

Several lawmakers, including Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian, Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon and Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, also raised their opposition to the MRT-LRT fare hike, saying there are things to be solved first before any implementation can take place such as the frequent MRT train breakdowns, unrepaired escalators and elevators.

Malacañang said the fare increases are acceptable for it will further lead to a better service on the trains. The administration also wants to trim down the trains’ subsidy so the money can be used for other social services.

If the fare hike is implemented, where would the 2015 supplemental budget of P11 billion for the MRT and LRT go?

You are like Jesus

Pope Francis celebrated a late night Christmas Eve Mass at the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

The Mass came just days after Francis sharply criticized the Vatican bureaucracy for their sins.

Tens of thousands of Romans and tourists crowded St. Peter’s Square to hear Francis deliver the message “Urbi et Orbi,” which means “to the city and to the world.”

He made a phone call to Iraqi and Christian refugees, who were forced to leave their homes because of Muslim militants, in Irbil and told them: “You’re like Jesus on this night, and I bless you and I am close to you. I embrace you all and wish you a holy Christmas.” The 78-year-old pontiff compared the refugees’ situation to Jesus who was in a stable manger in Bethlehem because there was no room for his parents at an inn.

He also prayed for peace and hope in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine.

Pope is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka and the Philippines from Jan. 12 to 19, 2015.

Tidbits

Ebola death toll is 7,588.

Greetings to friends Laarni Enriquez, Lito Lopez, Dr. Rene and Joy Cheng, Binggoy and Baby Montemayor, and Oca Tibayan.