Congress has power of the purse but the power of ballots goes to the poor!

By: dodong

With our power of the ballots we can choose a good leader in its true sense. Power of the government emanates from its sovereign people, therefore it’s not right to just wait what the government commit to the people whatever projects or benefits purportedly for the public but directly beneficial to the leaders only, instead the people shall dictate whatever undertakings that will redound to the welfare relevant and deserving  for the people.

The people and the government should undergo reformation. The people shall revolutionize its change of attitude and conduct overhaul of its character and practices. Government too can reform itself. Reform should include the willingness to listen to all groups of citizens, especially the poor. Since the people have the power and duty to select its leaders, the leaders in turn shall reciprocate their duties to help shape the future of the poor people. The government must provide jobs, better jobs with security of tenure as enshrined in the constitution (not contractual), and education. The government should break the vicious circle which only gives the opportunity of the rich children to get good education and get good jobs thus become richer, while the poor children bereft of education, could not land a job or good jobs to remain poor thus become poorer as time goes.

The people must be vigilant, vocal and hold the leaders accountable of their duties and responsibilities. To voice out and highlights whatever inadequacies they have done is not destructive criticism but rather constructive so that something could be improved, and to avert blaming  everybody of doing nothing but frivolities. Be relevant electorate!

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Positive Input in the recent Yolanda tragedy:

It’s the responsibility of the government to help the people. Majority of the poor people always die when there’s natural calamity and it’s the responsibility of the government through its leader politicians to raise the poor out of poverty and their vulnerability to manipulation.

We are grateful for the heroism of people in the devastated areas caused by Yolanda the strongest typhoon ever recorded. It showed that the victims though they are battered they refuse to surrender. The volunteers and workers who are Filipinos and the people from other countries who distributed relief goods, helped clean the debris and attended some sickly victims with their professions and medicines, they themselves refuse to leave are good traits not only of the Filipinos but of the community of nations who are concerned of the lives of the people.

 Manny Pacquiao after he won his fight in Macao with Brandon Rios, he visited the devastated areas of Samar and Tacloban, handed relief goods and delivered a very inspiring speech: “Don’t lose hope. As long as we live, there is hope. We can manage to return to normal living. Never forget God. He will never abandon us. I know you can rise again just like me. In the past, I, too, fell. But I persevered to get up and I rose again.” 

 The resilient Filipinos now start working for the rehabilitation of their places and their lives. Move on Pinoys, Bangun Visayas!

An open letter address to Sulpicio Lines, Inc. (SLI), before the case was decided and settled.

December 17, 2011 posted at FB

THE PRESENT SEA TRAGEDY
TO: 1 recipient
Sent 2008.Extracted from an old file.

                                          MV Princess of the Stars capsized on June 21, 2008. 

It was yet very vivid in my recollection and I know how it feels to be a passenger of the vessel in the middle of the ocean whose luggages and bedding were turned to pieces because our things were moving from one side to the other sides when the ship was hit by the typhoon. I had a first-hand experienced as a passenger on a ship which was nearly sank at the height of typhoon "Barang" in the ocean of Mindoro on October 3, 1971. I was on board MV Kolambugan of Escano Lines which I think 5 times smaller than the size of the Princess of the Orient. The ship which sailed from Manila bound for Surigao on October 2, 1971 was struck by the storm on the following day morning and was able to go back and hid to one safeside of the Minddoro island in the afternoon after nearly 5 hours of battling the giant waves. Thanks to the Lord God, and to the able and utmost diligence of the crews we successfully manuevered to a safe shore.

My brother-in-law Engr. Oscar Dela Pena, a Professional Civil Engineer, was one of the passengers of the ill-fated vessel Princess of the Orient of Sulpicio Lines, Inc. (SLI) which sank on Sept. 18, 1998. Just less than a month's time from my father's death who succumb to a heart attacked. He was never found till to date as there were also corpses found beyond recognition. The agony of pain of the family of my sister was too much to bear as another member of the family was lost. (It affected the health of my sister and her younger child) The sudden loss of the only bread-winner in the family of 6 with 4 little kids, 3 girls and a boy came very shocking to them. If the incident did not happen, my bother-in-law will graduate on that same year of his doctorate degree of (Structural Engineering at the University of Xavier, Cagayan de Oro City). Engr. Oscar Dela Pena was connected with DPWH as Project Manager in the construction of Kinalablaban bridge of Surigao del Sur.

The SLI has changed a little when it comes to paying the indemnity to passengers who were involved in the misfortune. They even advertised their offer to pay P200T per passenger in the Princess of the Stars as long as the passenger's name was in the manifest. Unlike the case of my bother-in-law even his name was in the manifest as passenger of the Princess of the Orient, we were ignored, as hundreds of us came to Manila as well as in Cebu offices of SLI to inquire about the fate of our loved ones, only to be met with a blank wall and a huge wave of rejection. And even if questions could not be answered then, there was no one to face us right and to listen. But now it seems with highhandedness attitudes are the same approach shown by the ship owner and their staffs. Until now the family of my sister feel so much injustice, not even one centatvo is received from SLI. The tribulation that the family had suffered is the trauma that had long been hounding the children which would cease to be forgotten. Especially after few weeks from the time tragedy happened, we did not give up as we continued our search for the missing relative, we were only left alone in the cold of the nights and in bad weather during the search along Batanggas area and its neighboring islands without financial aids from SLI.

As published in the newspapers, there were eerie similarities between the circumstances of the Princess of the Orient and the Princess of the Stars. Both were considered the biggest ships of SLI during their time-in 1998 and 2008 respectively. MV Princess of the Orient sank on September 18, 1998. Both ships set sail in stormy weather even though there were reports already that typhoon were forthcoming. Both skippers remain missing until at present and therefore no high ranking official of the ship could be question and more so could give proper and truthful information relative to the sinking or attest to the fact that they observed extra ordinary diligence to counter the presumption of guilt as prescribed in Art. 1756 of the Civil Code. Is it not the burden of proof lies on the common carrier to prove that they had not acted negligently? Why Princess of the Orient sank despite of its being huge vessel compared to other ships which sailed that stormy day but did not capsize? Passengers should have been given primordial consideration over with their profit and that safety must not be compromised, as provided in the following:

"Art. 1733. Common Carriers, from the nature of their bausiness and for reasons of public policy, are bound to observe extra ordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods and for the safety of the passengers transported by them, according to all the circumstances of each case."

"Art. 1755. A Common Carrier is bound to carry the passengers safely as far as human care and foresight can provide, using the utmost diligence of very cautious persons, with due regard for all the circumstances. [Merriam-Webster dictionary- foresight (n)-the act or power of foreseeing; care or provision for the future; prudence]. So if the skipper was guilty of imprudence and lack of foresight, the SLI can be equally guilty of such and considered negligent.

"Art. 1756. In case of death or injuries to passengers, common carriers are presumed to have been at fault or to have acted negligently, unless they prove that the observed extraordinary diligence..."

As per Judge Estela Alma Singco of Cebu RTC Branch 12 in Unabia vs. SLI, ruled that the ship's skipper Isrum Mahilum and his crew were also to blame. The weather disturbance at that time of the Princess of the Orient's voyage was "not the sole proximate" cause of its sinking. Judge Singco even quoted the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) report that the cause of its sinking was the Captain's "erroneous manuevers of the vessel before it sank" and there was a "preponderance" of evidence that the Captain also miscalculated when he "erroneously navigated the ship at its last crucial moment."

Similar case was recently decided by the Appellate Court affirming the Manila RTC's finding that Sun Holidays Inc. (SHI) was liable for negligence. In a decision promulgated on June 18, 2008, the Appellate Court upheld the lower court's decision and hold SHI responsible for the accident and set aside the testimony of a Philippine Coastguard official that the sinking of the ferry was an "Act of Nature" but "NEGLIENCE'.

Can we not ask the judges, for those cases which are still pending, to resolve the case expeditiously? Is it not that we are entitled to a speedy trial, otherwise justice delayed is justice denied. Thank you.

UNDAS…........

By: dodong.

November 2, 2010 & 2011

From the Spanish translation -Dia de muertos, it means the day of the dead. The Christian celebration of All Souls Day takes place in every 2^nd of November each year throughout the world. Usually the celebration is a holiday in other countries. The holiday is seen as the opportunity for the families to have a reunion, the time for the family and friends to gather together to pray for and remember their family members and friends who have died. 

 

In the Philippines, included in the special non-working days in the Proclamation # 459-Philippine holidays for 2013 issued by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III are November 1 and 2, but usually the religious holidays start in November 1, the commemoration of All Saints Day (Todos Los Santos) up to November 2 the commemoration of All Souls Day. Filipinos are expected to be busy a week or two prior to the celebration of UNDAS since they will clean, repaint the tombs, gravesites, small pantheons or their family mausoleum for their dear departed. On the day of the celebrations, people visit to the cemeteries and bring flowers, foods, and sometimes beverages and offer prayers or mass for their deceased relatives and light a burning candle.

As we celebrate All Saints Day, we remember our young children who died innocently as certain for their sainthood and this reminds ourselves too of our call to holiness, our great challenge to become saints.

 As we celebrate All Souls Day, we have to remember the souls of our dead love ones who depart from our midst but not really gone from us in our memory. So that in essence we are thinking that all of us have souls not only the dead but also importantly the living. Hence we have to be thoughtful of what we are going to do to feed the souls of the living to prepare for our own departure to be able to pass from life to death… to life after death and have everlasting peace in the Eternal kingdom of our Lord God in Heaven.