A horror day - JAYWALKER By ART A. BORJAL

Yesterday was, indeed, a rare day for newspaper readers. It must have been the first time, after a long, long while, where almost all of the major newspaper stories were "feel-bad" stories, horror stories that can only deepen the wounds being suffered by our nation. It is incredible how, after one "feel-bad" story fades away from the newspaper pages, another sorry story surfaces, with its own lifespan, further eroding the image of the Estrada administration.

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Look at some of the stories that came out in yesterday’s newspapers:

* Jueteng war erupts

* Kidnapping back in Metro Manila

* Jeepney, bus fares increased nationwide

* Peso slumps to historic low

* Stocks decline to a two-year low

* Guingona office bugged

* Sarao Motors closes down

* Inflation goes up to 4.8 percent

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Unless the situation can be turned around, where "feel good" stories can emerge out of the prevailing atmosphere of gloom, doom and despair, big, big troubles lie ahead for our country. And with the forecast by economic analysts that the Philippine peso will continue to go down further, probably to P50 to one American dollar, the possible social scenario is dreadful.

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Factories closing down. Poor families unable to eat three times a day. Workers losing jobs. Criminality on the rise. Discontent and disenchantment all over the land. Labor unrest. All these dreadful things, and many more, could happen, unless a big miracle happens.

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Yesterday, I had a post-luncheon meeting with six charming, personable, powerful and big-hearted ladies at the Lobby Lounge of Manila Peninsula Hotel. They are powerful because they have powerful husbands who, almost always, obey their orders. And they are big-hearted because they have big hearts for the less fortunate in life. The ladies are Teresita Aventajado, Loretta Tiaoqui, Gloria Angara, Shiela Policarpio, Rose Marie Zamora and Genevieve Uriarte. They are all officers and members of the Cabinet Ladies Foundation.

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What I liked about my meeting with the ladies is that the topic we talked about concerned "feel-good" projects for our indigent and less fortunate fellowmen. With Mrs. Aventajado taking over the presidency of the Cabinet Ladies Foundation, the ladies are planning to sponsor socially meaningful and truly laudable projects for Filipinos who have so little, or hardly anything, in life.

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The initial plan of the Cabinet Ladies is to put up doable livelihood projects for women and children with physical disabilities, a project that is close to my heart. And the ladies wanted to get from me ideas and suggestions on what their Foundation could do for this disadvantaged sector in society. Eventually, I am going to write about some of the projects that the Cabinet ladies will launch. But in the meantime, they are now busy preparing for a movie benefit premiere of the film, The Replacement, on Friday, October 27, at Louie’s Cinema at Makati.

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The Cabinet Ladies also agreed to consider some significant undertakings, very doable and easily operational, for the benefit of disadvantaged women and their families. The details of this project I will report on, in a succeeding column.

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As I bade the ladies good-bye, leaving them behind to think of other projects that they could sponsor, I felt good, seeing their radiant faces and the glint of genuine commitment in their eyes. You can be powerful instruments in making good things happen in our country, to make our people feel good, and to make our country resurrect from the feeling of gloom and doom that is now hovering in the cloudy skies.

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My column entitled "Water Service Never for Profit" elicited a significant reaction from former Ambassador Rodolfo A. Arizala, from his base in Santiago, Chile, where he is a university consultant. He agreed that the distribution of water is clothed with public interest and, therefore, for the benefit of the people. Never for profit.

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Arizala recalled the letter of a Red Indian Chief called "Seattle" to the "Big White Chief" in Washington, D.C., when the US government decided to buy a huge tract of Indian land in 1894. In his letter, Chief Seattle threw the question: "If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? This shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. You must teach your children that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people."

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Arizala’s point is that water is not a mere object of commerce, to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads. "It is sacred. It is for the public interest, part of the life of the people, and, therefore, should be beyond the commerce of man," he said.

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Here are excerpts of letters I received recently:

Chief Justice HILARIO G. DAVIDE Jr., Supreme Court of the Philippines, Manila: "Please accept my everlasting gratitude for writing the special tribute ‘Hail to the Chief’ in your column of 26 September 2000. While your kind words and phrases are deeply appreciated, I am nonetheless humbled by your respect and hope for the institution that I serve. Truly, your faith and trust in me and the Judiciary encourage me to work even harder and give the best of my abilities in the service of the Judiciary."

TOM DRYDEN, Dryden Hotel, Barrio Barretto, Tacloban City: "Thank you for your column. I enjoy it very much. Between you and Mr. Soliven, I receive the best information about your country and the goings-on in honest reporting. I have lived in the Philippines on and off since 1944 where I was befriended by a young lady who visited me in a hospital converted from an old church in Palo, outside Tacloban City. I consider the Philippines to be my home since I retired."

ELVIE PUNZALAN-ESTAVILLO: "Many thanks for featuring my Thoughts to Guide Us By in your column. It all the more inspires me to come up with something that will somehow help people lighten their burden, brighten their days, and ease their pains. God bless our country and kababayans, and may He lead us very soon to the path of lasting peace and prosperity for all."

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Art A. Borjal’s e-mail address: [email protected]