Just when we have come from the national tragedy that the Wowowee stampede caused the nation… now we have another disaster in our hands. At this point, we can only ask our readers to open their hearts and wallets and give kindly and generously to the rescue and relief efforts.
I don’t know why deadly natural disasters always hit the island of Leyte. We cannot forget the Ormoc tragedy in the early 90s and the landslide that struck Barangay San Ricardo on the island of Panaon a couple of years ago. Perhaps government scientists or geophysicists should give the Leyte island’s geological stability special attention in order to prevent future tragedies like thes
If you would recall, it was only after the Americans had completed their invasion of Iraq when we were told that they invaded that country based on faulty intelligence! I would like to believe that their downgrading the Philippines from the priority watch list was based on faulty information. Perhaps they were elated over the publicity that Edu Manzano of the Optical Media Board (OMB) was getting from the national dailies.
If you ask me, that is not the reality on the ground. I challenge you folks that in Cebu City, you can still get the latest Hollywood movies like Brokeback Mountain from our nearest friendly neighborhood video pirate… who doesn’t make pains to hide his pirated stuff! We know where they are openly sold here and if you go to other places like Dumaguete City, you can still get those pirated videos as easily as buying chewing gum.
Please don’t get me wrong… I would love to see the Philippines taken off this watch list, but only if we’re satisfied that video piracy and other IPR violations are no longer openly and rampantly displayed. While President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) was elated by this report, I don’t want to douse cold water on her elation, but someone ought to tell her the real story about the rampant video piracy in Cebu. President Arroyo comes so often to Cebu, perhaps she ought to see things for herself… after all, the video pirates are practically her neighbors at the Malacañang of the South.
It was, indeed, refreshing to meet the folks from the Calabarzon area so we could exchange notes with each other. As Chairman Osmond told us, it was an unforgettably amazing sight to see the launching of a huge 20,000 DWT bulk carrier from the Tsuneishi shipyard in Balamban along the western coast of Cebu. It was also good for Cebuano businessmen to learn what’s happening in the factories in the Calabarzon area, which contributes 54 percent of the nation’s exports. I’m sure their visit to Cebu was equally as exhilarating for them.
One highlight of our meeting was when Atty. Apolinario Macalintal, president of the Batangas Tourism Council, batted for ecotourism in order to save our environment. He recited a Tagalog poem that he made entitled Tinig ng Batang Scout about our children’s cry to save our environment. Unfortunately due to lack of space, we shall be printing his poem in our next column. One thing that we all agreed upon is to bat for an annual congress of PSRs, which we hope would be adopted this year.
When we got to the Paparazzi Restaurant, we thought everything was a joke because it was practically being demolished with construction signs warning "caution" placed in strategic places. It turned out that we were in the right place after all. It was the first-ever "Demolition Party" we had ever attended! It was something of a go-away party for the Paparazzi Restaurant and the 188-room Ocean Wing, which is going to be renovated pronto! Shangri-La just didn’t want these icons of theirs to go without a bang and that was exactly what we had Friday night!
We basically had the Shang’s one-of-a-kind Demolition menu of hors d’oeuvres… Basil Pesto, Anchovies, Bell Pepper in Black Olive Tapenade, Parma Ham, Mozzarella, Bocconcini in Italian Parsley Salad and their heavenly dish, White Brie Cheese and Peppered Smoke Salmon. Now that was just what the Shang served us for demolishing their restaurant… just think what great food they would be serving us when they finish this renovation come July 31 and reopen the Ocean Wing!