Appeal from Ipil, a faraway land

My schoolmate at the old Ateneo de Manila, Bishop Antonio J. Ledesma of the Prelature of Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur, recently gave his consent that my assistance be sought in behalf of 31-year-old Fr. Arnel Demegillo, a diocesan priest of the Ipil Prelature. It was Bishop Ledesma who, in 1998, ordained Fr. Arnel into the priesthood.

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For the information of people who have not been to Ipil, which is in faraway Zamboanga del Sur, the place seems so far away from civilization. One has to traverse rugged roads, for what seem to be endless hours, from Zamboanga City, just to reach Ipil. It is a place where life is hard, a "hardship post" for a Bishop as young as Bishop Ledesma, or for a young diocesan priest like Fr. Arnel.

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I first heard about Ipil when I met Bishop Ledesma, many years ago, at the old Manila Domestic Airport, while we were both awaiting different flights to separate destinations. And our meeting at the airport terminal building, if my memory has not failed me, took place just a few months after Ipil, or a nearby town, was torched to the ground by Muslim rebels and terrorists. For the information of his countless friends and admirers, Bishop Ledesma’s telephone number is (062)333-2266 and his telefax number is (062)333-2571.

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Now, let me tell The STAR readers about Fr. Arnel, whose plight was brought to my attention by Dr. Eleanor M. Santiago, MD, president and CEO of Optimum HealthCare Systems, with office address at Gen. Araneta Avenue, Antonio Village, Pasig City, and whose landline telephone number is 631-3926 and mobile phone number is 0917-3629975. But first, who is Dr. Santiago?

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Dr. Santiago is an internist-pulmonologist who returned to the Philippines in 1994, after 32 years in the United States. She subsequently re-engineered the 50-year-old Waterous Hospital in San Juan to an HMO now located in Pasig City since 1996. As part of the HMO’s socio-civic involvement, it developed the "Optimum Kabayan" program where Fil-Ams in California may become benefactors for basic healthcare plans with their identified beneficiaries in the Philippines. Some 13 diocesan priests in Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur, were chosen by Dr. Santiago and her group as potential beneficiaries, but have so far been unable to get US-based benefactors to cover the cost of their medical treatment.

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Now, how about Fr. Demegillo? He has a kidney disorder and is a kidney transplant candidate. He does not have the money to cover the cost of pre-transplant expenses and the surgery itself, or about half a million pesos. And the priest does not have the money to pay for the lifetime post-kidney transplant maintenance medicines which will cost about P30,000 to P50,000 a month. "Could you write a line or two about Fr. Demegillo, an appeal for sustained funding from benefactors, so that Fr. Arnel could continue his priestly ministry in Ipil?" said Dr. Santiago.

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Right now, Fr. Arnel is staying at the Christ the King Church in Greenmeadow, Quezon City (Tel. No. 633-0280), where Msgr. Jaime Mora is the parish priest. Eventually, Fr. Arnel will have to be found a home for a period of three months, where he will be relatively isolated in one room to avoid catching infections. And, of course, there must be a way to transport him for weekly visits to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

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For those who want to help, please contact Alex Dinoy of the Good Samaritan Foundation, at Tel. Nos. 716-1399 and 716-1499, or through my e-mail address [email protected], with office address at Unit I-J RM Arcade, 80 R. Magsaysay Blvd., Quezon City, right beside UERM Memorial Medical Center, a stone’s throw away from SM Centerpoint. By the way, I also cited all the contact numbers of Bishop Ledesma, Dr. Santiago, and Christ the King Church, to enable potential benefactors to communicate directly with them. Thanks a million, and God bless.

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Rodolfo A. Arizala, lawyer and retired Philippine ambassador, sent to me from Santiago, Chile, where he is presently based, his interesting insights on press freedom and presidential authority. His letter is a reaction to several press criticism and comments made recently on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s exercise of authority to appoint ambassadors and conduct of foreign policy.

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As pointed out by Arizala, President GMA was specifically criticized, first, for having joined the United States and "coalition forces" in the struggle against terrorism, and secondly, for having appointed ambassadors not from the career service. Under the first, she is branded as being engaged in the "making of a foreign policy quagmire" and, in the second, she is accused of violating the foreign service law.

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"In both cases, the President of the Philippines was merely exercising her constitutional functions. As President, she has to implement in ‘good faith’ treaty obligations, the law of nations as well as UN Security Council resolutions on terrorism. And in the appointment of ambassadors, she was also merely exercising another constitutional function ‘not derived from, nor limitable by Congress.’ Both acts are presumed for the national interests as perceived by the President," Arizala said.

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While Arizala sympathized with the desire of deserving career foreign service officers to be also appointed as ambassadors to professionalize the service, he nonetheless admitted that "under the Constitution and existing laws, the President could appoint as ambassador anybody, whether career or not, provided the appointee enjoys the full trust and confidence of the President and in her criteria the appointee would serve the best interests of the nation."

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Arizala expressed full faith, however, that in the exercise of such discretion, the President will not forget the career foreign service officers whom then President Diosdado Macapagal protected, as a means of professionalizing the service, through the passage in 1952 of Republic Act 708. And the retired envoy hoped that in the exercise of press freedom, the criticisms in the press would not make it appear that the President is being made a victim of "journalistic terrorism" aimed at destroying her credibility and image.

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"Let the press criticisms be considered as an exercise of fair comment. Otherwise, we shall be confirming what Napoleon warned us many years ago: Three hostile newspapers are to be feared than a thousand bayonets. But fair comment is essential for, as Jefferson said: When the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe," Arizala stated.

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PULSEBEAT: Esteban A. Sanchez Jr. with his wife, a team couple of the Christian Family Movement in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, wrote to say that he uses some THOUGHTS FOR TODAY verses as topics during lectures in the CFM’s Marriage Enrichment Seminars. He wants to know where he can get a complete compilation or a book on THOUGHTS FOR TODAY. As of now, I cannot give an answer. But hopefully, there could be a book containing the inspiring verses that are featured in Jaywalker . . . Art Alejandro-Scheffold wrote to correct my erroneous item about the Philippine Embassy in Germany being in Bonn. No, said the observant The STAR reader, the Philippine Ambassador is now based in Berlin, the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. I stand corrected.

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Thoughts For Today:

Time is like a river:
You can’t step in the same water twice
because the waters that passed
will never pass you again.
So, cherish every moment of your life.

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God never closes a door
without opening a window.
He always gives us
something better everyday.

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My e-mail address: <[email protected]>