Euphoria over Pacquiao victory

Even churches Sunday remained virtually empty as residents all over Bacolod and Negros Occidental were glued to their radio and or television sets for the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar Larios fight at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Lawyer Mitchell Abella was surprised to see only a few cars were parked at the Sacred Heart Shrine in front of the Sacred Heart Seminary in Lupit for the 11 a.m. Mass. I was also stunned. Normally, that place is filled with vehicles on a Sunday but last Sunday, there hardly was traffic along the street and there were few cars in the parking area.

That was the impression of Abella. And that, to a certain extent, reflect what was happening in Bacolod and other parts of the country. The Pacman-Larios fight just attracted the attention of everyone.

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Maranon said Pacquiao won an expected and overwhelming victory. "I would like to congratulate Manny for putting the country at the top of the world in boxing," he said.

Robinson Mall was crowded with people who went to the place to watch at the giant TV screen for viewers. Residents also flocked to the giant screens put up by the Bacolod city government in various places. The rest simply stayed at home or went to bars and restaurants which offered free viewing of the "Thrilla in Manila 2".

Even my own grandchildren joined the chorus of cheers every time Pacman lands a blow on Larios. "Luyo na, luyo na," (He is weak now, he is weak now)," they shouted as the Pacman poured it on Larios in the 12th round.

Rep. Marlon Fuentevella shouted cheers when the TV panned at him at the start of the fight at the ringside of the Araneta Coliseum.

But he also stirred a controversy. Many were critical of why the Bacolod City executive acted that way during the opening ceremonies before the fight. But Leonardia dismissed the criticisms, saying the championship belt is a symbol of Manny and his achievements.

"He is undoubtedly today a phenomenon and is the best uniting factor we can have today. He can be considered a folk hero," was how Leonardia justified the gesture which some local media critics dubbed as "KSP" or Kulang sa Pansin.

Leonardia also went out of his way to justify why Pacquiao did not show the "killer instinct" he displayed during his bout with Mexican boxer Erik Morales.

There was not much power against Larios. Besides, we have to give credit to Larios that he was no push over," Leonardia quipped.

Anyway, post that Sunday spectacle, Bacolodnons found themselves thrilled by the report that Pacman may be coming soon to Bacolod to thank Bacolenos for their support and prayers (Pacquiao is an adopted son of Bacolod and has been here several times).

Tribute to Ampon

The focus on Pacquiao and other Pinoy boxers Sunday sort of sidelined a major story about Filipino Wimbledon Plate champion Felicisimo Ampon who was given tribute by British Ambassador Peter Beckingham last Wednesday during the celebration of the century of partnership with Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Dunlop Slazenger Phils. Inc. and Dunlop Slazenger International Inc. in Manila at the British Embassy.

Among those who participated in the affair were Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes, Bacolod City Rep. Fuentevella, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, Manila International Airport Manager Angel Atutubo, Business World columnist Vergel Santos, and Metro magazine editor-in-chief and ABS-CBN Publishing general manager Thelma San Juan.

What was startling was the revelation by Ambassador Beckingham that Dunlop Slazenger has reason to be proud that the tennis balls used in the Wimbledon are manufactured here in the Philippines.

The British envoy also reminded Pinoy sportsmen that Felicisimo Ampon won the Wimbledon Plate championship in 1953.

Ampon, he added, at only 4' 11", holds the record of being the shortest man ever to play at Wimbledon.

Beckingham also mentioned that Ampon had earlier won the Davis Cup singles championship in 1937, the singles title in the Pan-American championship in Mexico City in 1950, and "certainly one of the world’s best tennis balls for the world.

Now that’s one revelation that should perk up local tennis players.

It also reminded me of the time when as a young kid of about seven years, I watched Ampon and Rey Deyro beaten in a game by some tennis players of the Insular Lumber Company in Fabrica, Sagay City. The cosmopolitan community at that time was the sports center of Negros Occidental and the two Filipino champions met their match with local players there. But that’s history.

West Negros nursing graduates’ plight

After that debacle of 425 nursing students of the West Negros College last year, it seems that the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) is once more in hot water for unceremmoniously scrapping the names of some 15 WNC nursing board examinees just when they were about to take the board examination.

During the weekend, a local TV program of Channel 14 (the Sunshine Channel) featured some of the nursing graduates who recount their embarrassing and traumatic experience under PRC proctors.

Miss Jeanne Barrera, for example, recounted how she was taken by surprise when she was informed by the proctor that her name was not in the list of those granted permission to take the test. She was already then starting to answer the test questions.

She said she realized that her name was just scrapped at the last minute and no explanation was offered. Others recounted similar traumatic experiences.

An official of the WNC said the college is exhausting all means to have the situation rectified.

But Ms. Barrera and several graduates said they overheard PRC personnel saying that because of the complaints of 425 graduates, the PRC budget was reportedly cut by the House of Representatives.

"They were openly commenting about it while we were going out of the PRC," said Ms. Barrera.

Lawyers of the school are reportedly preparing to take legal action on the issue. But the WNC official was somewhat cautious about what this legal step would be, opting to exhaust all administrative remedies first to resolve the issue.

But the point is that these 15 graduates may have to wait until the next examination in December to take the examination. Meanwhile, they had already spent "a tremendous sum of money" just to prepare and to pay for board and lodging in Manila and elsewhere just so they could take the board examination.

Worse, they had not been properly informed of the reason for their disqualification to take the test.

That, I hope, would spur the congressmen from Western Visayas to take up the cudgels of the nursing graduates and ask PRC to once and for all explain the reasons for their disqualification. Watch out for the fireworks later.

ADDENDA. Tanjay Councilor Erkki Lozarita cheated death Sunday when a lone gunman fired at him near his home in Barangay Catiao-tiao, Tanjay City, Negros Oriental. Lozarita, a last term councilor, has been a program host for "Badilyo" at the diocesan radio dyWC for more than a year now. He claimed to have fired back twice at the alleged assailant who fled into a nearby banana field…Actually the councilor had been a radio reporter for dyWC for 10 years. Meanwhile, another reporter — Bobong Roy Morados, 45, of Sta. Catalina town, claimed that a barangay councilor had threatened him on various occasions, the latest was on June 5. The reason was a report in June 2004 that mentioned the councilor as having gone wild while under the influence of liquour, which reportedly prompted a barangay captain to call his attention…Rep. Gilbert Remulla of Cavite, himself a former broadcast journalist, urged mediamen to exercise press freedom with responsibility. He also appealed to them to uplift the standards of journalism. Remulla was the keynote speaker at the media forum of the Media Advocates for Reproductive Health at the closing of the Press Freedom Week. The celebration at the Governor’s Hall of the provincial capitol. The forum was attended by Negros Press Club, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Congress of Active Media Practitioners, Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines (SCOOP-Negros), Cobra-Anns, Negros Occidental Press Freedom Foundation, and the Marbhe Bacolod Chapter.