Zubiri calls for cure to ‘oil addiction’

The recent call of US President George Bush to be less dependent on oil and instead look for alternative fuels has instigated our own lawmakers, particularly Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, the principal proponent of our own ethanol bill, to do so.

In a statement, Zubiri is calling on the Senate to prioritize the bill which has been given the nod by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself but which has taken a backseat as our Senate has been more engrossed in probing scandals like the misuse of government funds.

Zubiri is acting on sentiments prevailing upon the senators, many of whom have no love lost for President Arroyo, maybe because of the Cha-cha endorsements. "If they won’t listen to their own President, maybe they would like to listen to the American one."

Indeed, if nations like the US are already concerned about the dwindling oil supply, ours should start acting now since we have the resources to push for ethanol production in this country.

And Zubiri is right in his view that the signal from Bush should be a "cue for our senators to work on the bill now."

Moreso now with the possibility of US embargo against Iran where, according to the young congressman, "one in every four barrels of oil that enter our country comes from Iran and if there’s an embargo we will have a hard time finding a substitute."

Zubiri’s bill aims to jumpstart through the grant of tax and financing incentives to a "national biofuel program" aimed at replacing within four years a tenth of national gasoline consumption with a "VAT-free cheap clean gas" produced from the likes of cane and coconut.

The bill provides for the "mandatory blending of gasoline with five percent bioethanol" within two years after the approval of the law.

This will lead to annual foreign exchange savings of P40 billion, Zubiri said, basing his estimate on the country’s daily consumption of 320,000 barrels of oil, at $65 a piece, using a P53 to $1 exchange rate.

I hope the Senate heeds the call of Zubiri before it’s too late and we find ourselves lagging behind other countries again.

The day they killed Evelio Javier

Monday, Antiqueños kicked off the month-long commemoration of the death anniversary of former Antique Governor Evelio Javier, the hero of Western Visayas and Antique.

But the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Evelio’s death will be on Feb. 11. That was the day when a band of "mercenary killers" gunned down the popular figure who had played a key role in the victory of former President Corazon Aquino over the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos in the snap elections of 1986.

On Saturday, the late governor will be honored with a commemorative rite that will be led by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, National Historical Institute executive director Ludovico Badoy and Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez, who will preside over the unveiling and blessing of the EBJ Historical Marker.

There will be a morning Eucharistic celebration, grand parade, and the wreath-laying with full military honors at the EBJ Freedom Park. There, Gov. Perez, Mayor Atienza and Director Badoy will deliver their commemorative speeches in honor of the late Antique governor.

Later there will be symposia on "Evelio, hero of Antique, hero of the Filipinos" and "Evelio and Local Governance."

The symposia will touch on Evelio’s campaign trail, his love for the environment and his role in the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Actually, his death was the final spark that ignited the EDSA Revolution.

Among the speakers are columnist Belinda Cunanan, former congressman and governor Jovito Plameras Jr., Prof. Edwin Sustento, Rosemarie Yenako and Sammy Juen, a former Javier political strategist and campaign manager and now a Manila-based journalist.

Evelio was the son of Everardo Autjay Javier and Felixa Bellaflor of Culasi. He was born on Oct. 14, 1942 in Barangay Lanag (now Evelio Javier) in Hamtic.

He later married Precious Bello Litilla of Sibalmon with whom he had two sons, Francis Gideon and David.

Evelio was an achiever since his childhood days. He graduated first honor from the San Jose Elementary School and the Ateneo de Manila High School. He finished his Bachelor of Arts Major in History and Government at the Ateneo College of Arts and Science in 1963. There he also finished his Bachelor of Laws in 1968 and immediately took and passed the Bar.

Although still very young, only 28, Evelio ran for governor of Antique and won by a landslide vote in 1971. He was then the country’s youngest governor.

While still young, he immediately initiated Antique’s most famous festival — the Binirayan — in 1974. He also launched his brainchild — the Antique Upland Development Program, which won funding from the Ford Foundation, USAID and UPLB and other development funding institutions. It was the first model for a sustainable development strategy for Third World countries.

Instead of running for re-election in 1980, Evelio decided to pursue a scholarship grant at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University in 1981. He ran as congressman against an influential Marcos candidate but lost due to fraud. He won his vindication five years later when, after his death, the Supreme Court declared him the real winner.

At 10 a.m., Feb. 11, while Evelio was talking with some friends, three hooded armed men alighted from a Nissan Patrol jeep and immediately opened fire at him.

He warned his friends to duck for cover while he scampered around to drive the mercenaries away from his friends. He sustained gunshot wounds in his left leg and shoulder. Despite his wounds and profuse bleeding, he zigzagged the 50-meter stretch across the circular park from the Capitol and collapsed in an artificial moat. Somehow, he managed to clamber up.

He rushed into a store owned by a certain Leon Pe. There he went inside the comfort room, hoping to escape from his attackers. However, they cornered him. The gunmen then riddled him with bullets. Although he was pleading for them to spare him from death, they still blazed at the prostrate Evelio.

While lying on the damp cement, another gunman reportedly unmasked himself and cried out loudly, "Can you recognize me? Stand up and fight?" Then, he fired the coup de grace into Evelio’s head.

Later, his supporters counted 24 bullet wounds which tattered his body.

In 1986, post the EDSA Revolution after I had returned home from the US, I undertook a personal pilgrimage to San Jose and saw with my own eyes the spot where Evelio died. I also interviewed witnesses who recounted to me the brutal slaying of the popular governor. He was a personal friend. And tears fell down my cheeks as I listened to a tale of inhumanity by his killers.

But what can be said about Evelio? He did not live to see the liberation of the country he loved so much.

But his dreams for his people lived on. Yes, he is dead, but his ideas did not die with him. His thoughts and his ideas will continue to linger in the hearts’ of Antiqueños.

Bacolod Pavilion regains its fame

The Bacolod Pavilion has recaptured its fame as the sanctuary of troubled souls. It provides a restful atmosphere wafted by the breeze from the Guimaras Strait.

For me, it has memories of the last year before my wife, Dr. Lourdes L. Espina, died. It was during our 40th wedding anniversary when my children gifted her and myself our anniversary celebration.

The Bacolod Pavilion was where my children and grandchildren presented a wonderful program choreographed by my daughter, Maté.

And we occupied one of the cottages where my wife and I would stay for the celebration of our anniversary. Barely a year later, she was dead of cerebral hemorrhage.

Recently rehabilitated, the Bacolod Pavilion has become popular among Bacolod’s busy people. It has 12 standard rooms, four family rooms and five special suit rooms. It is the favorite of Speaker Jose de Venecia and his wife, Gina. They usually stay there when visiting Bacolod together.

Now that the SM Megamall is about to be completed (by October this year), the Bacolod Pavilion has become a favorite destination of Ilonggo visitors.

The principal destinations of visitors are the poolside bar and the Qui Café where one may sip brewed coffee while watching the swimmers.

The Bacolod Pavilion will have a major presentation on Valentine’s Day. It will offer a special Valentine food menu for only P165 per person. But on Feb. 15, its special presentation, "Life’s a Drag" at the poolside bar, will feature impersonators of Aretha Franklin, Madonna, ABBA, Donna Summer, Queen Latifah, Spice Girls, and Barbra Streisand.

That should prove a dramatic comeback opening for the Bacolod Pavilion.

A touching tale of honesty

One of the most deplorable traits of the Filipino is that of bewailing corruption, which is supposedly endemic. Not true. Honesty has always been a sterling virtue of the Filipino, especially before World War II.

But here was a tale told to me by Julie Mag. Desirree C. Cadimpis, president of the Save Our Language Through Federalism of Silliman University.

"Coming back from Iloilo Sunday, I left my bag with my cellphone, IDs and cash of P1,300.

"I was about to ask for help from Bombo Radyo when I learned that they had been paging for me because the taxi driver, Celestino Garin, had turned over to them my bag with the contents intact. The two disk jocks, Elecciones and Jas, were asking for me to retrieve my lost possessions at the radio station in Bacolod.

"Seeing that Garin had turned over my bag intact, I then decided to give the taxi driver P500 for his honesty. He initially refused, but I insisted.

"Later, Rep. Monico Puentevella, hearing about it on the radio, arrived at the Bombo Radyo station and added another P500 to be given to Garin.

"I was desperate when I lost my bag. It contained everything I needed to return to Dumaguete. I was already crying. I had no money, no relatives in Bacolod who could have helped me go back to Dumaguete. Worse, my PRC card and my ID as a nurse were also among the lost items. Imagine my surprise when DJs Elecciones and Jas paged me over the air to get back my bag, which had been deposited with them by cab driver Garin. Thank God for honest men like Garin," was how Julie described that touching episode.