BY MATÈ ESPINA
YESTERDAY, most Ilonggos were glued to the live streaming of the 69th Miss Universe Pageant to cheer on our country’s bet, Rabiya Mateo. Unfortunately, Rabiya did not make it to the top ten but we are still proud that she made it to the top 21.
I am not a beauty pageant enthusiast and I did not watch the Miss U actually. But I was updated by the results as almost all local radio stations here gave a blow-by-blow account of the live event.
I must admit I did watch a rerun of the national costume competition on You Tube last weekend just to see for myself the hullaballoo over Rabiya’s costume that left her in tears after she was bashed for not wearing the crown to complete the ensemble.
But if it was a judgment call not to wear it because of possible malfunction, I do not see anything wrong with it. Rabiya still looked splendid in her national costume. I must admit though that my favorites during that segment were Cameroon, Canada and Indonesia based on costume execution and projection.
Nevertheless, congratulations are in order for Rabiya for carrying our flag proudly in that competition and for being a symbol of unity, albeit short-lived, amidst this chaos.
Over the weekend, the regional IATF has endorsed the recommendation to stop travel between Panay and Negros Occidental even for just a week to contain the spread of COVID-19 which is high in both islands.
Of course, some businessmen here are not agreeable to the idea as it will further hurt the economy. Frank Carbon of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry said this will affect thousands who rely on port operations for their income.
“Businesses are closing faster than those that are reopening,” Carbon was quoted in news interview.
But while I agree with the sentiments of the business community, the health and safety of the people are utmost especially since vaccination roll-out remains slow here compared to metro urban cities in the country.
The upside is that, vaccination has reached the barangay level here already. But they are still in controlled numbers as we remain dependent on what the national government sends us. Containment is urgent especially since we already have the other variants here in our country and the downside is, we do not know yet if the jabs being administered to us will actually offer the same resistance to the other variants.
Meanwhile, another good news here is the successful pacemaker surgery conducted at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH). Two surgeries were done successfully and were attended to by doctors Calvin Fernandez, Jet Masa, and Kris-Crucero Manuel.
I’ve met Calvin and Jet, who both trained at the Philippine Heart Center, when my sister, May, had a complicated heart surgery there.
Dr. Julius Drilon, the medical director of the regional hospital said they are planning to do three pediatric cardiovascular surgery as well next month. With these, cardiovascular surgeries will now be accessible and affordable to Negrenses and my congratulations to the CLMMRH team and to Doc Julius for making this possible.
Another story that is hogging headlines here is the relief of Lt. John Paul Tabujara, chief of police of EB Magalona town in north Negros following a surprise visit from the National Police Commission.
NAPOLCOM Region 6 Director Joseph Celis went to EB Magalona at around 11pm last Friday and was surprised that no one was manning the desk when he arrived. Celis took to Facebook his observation and posted that it took five minutes for one policeman to wake up and discovered that three others were asleep inside.
The chief of police nor his deputy were present and according to provincial police director, Col. Romy Palgue, this is already a violation of their standard operating procedure. He was told that the deputy could not report because he was not feeling well, but Palgue said, the COP should have reported in his deputy’s stead.
Worse was that, according to Celis, the gates were wide open, the station smelled putrid, and a junked vehicle was blocking a passageway. Celis also said, he was already inside the station when the first policeman woke up and they were all in civilian clothing and changed to their uniforms after seeing Celis.
This is truly embarrassing for the force and relieving the chief was an appropriate sanction. In fact, transferring him to another post, along with his men, must not be the end of the action against them.
So many violations occurred and I could not imagine what could happen if they were raided by bad elements and their firearms actually taken. A proper investigation must be conducted and corresponding sanctions commensurate to the gravity of the offense must be meted.
This must be a lesson to all law enforcers especially since we are still in the midst of a crisis./PN
