A bigger 6th Gabii sa Kabilin this year

Because I was playing in a golf tournament, I missed watching the fight between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Miguel Cotto for the WBA Super Welterweight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where Mayweather won the fight. So will we finally see a Pacman vs. Mayweather this year? This will depend on the negotiations, more so that it could very well be the last fight of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. So we shall eagerly watch the developments of this possible fight within the year.

A major boxing match like the Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto normally lands in the front pages of our national dailies. But apparently, the Inquirer featured a local boxing match that happened at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 between Inquirer columnist Ramon Tulfo and actor Raymart Santiago. As the report goes, Raymart with his wife Claudine Barretto and her kids and friends allegedly ganged up on Tulfo. Actor Raymart Santiago, however, pointed out that it was Tulfo who lunged at them while he was with his kids at the baggage claim area. So now the truth will have to rely on the CCTV cameras. It would be interesting to find out who is lying to the public here.

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Bureau of Customs (BoC) Commissioner Ruffy Biazon was in Cebu to personally look at the more than 700,000 pieces of blank Digital Video Discs (DvD) worth P6 million that was confiscated by the BoC X-Ray inspection project last March 9. The consignee was Zakrhis General Merchandise of Mabolo, Cebu which turned out to be a fake consignee. According to Atty. Lourdes Mangaoang, former Cebu BoC Commissioner, this shipment used a fake permit that was presented to the Customs, as certified by Optical Media Bureau (OMB) Ronnie Rickets.

But the BoC District Collector pointed out that a check with the OMB revealed that this company (Zakrhis) was not registered with their office and therefore, they used a fake permit in order to thwart the BoC. Just imagine, if 700,000 DvD discs got out without paying taxes and duties, what harm it would do when video gram pirates use these discs to copy pirated movies, which we know is rampant in Cebu.

Incidentally, we in Cebu have yet to see the shadow of Ronnie Rickets. Perhaps as an actor, he is busy making movies. But on the other hand, his predecessor Edu Manzano is also a TV personality himself but he would always conduct raids vs. video pirates in Cebu. Perhaps Mr. Ricketts is following the path of the man who appointed him into the OMB so now he is also “Noynoying” against video piracy.

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How time has flown since we witnessed the first Gabii sa Kabilin on May 25, 2007. This is the project (which bagged the Anvil Awards last year) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) which gives us Cebuanos a way to remember our past through night museum tours. This year’s Gabii sa Kabilin will be held on May 25, culminating the International Museum Day (May 18) and the National Heritage Month celebrations in May.

RAFI originally conceptualized the Gabii sa Kabilin with Germany’s “Lange Nacth der Museen, or Long Night of the Museums.” In creating this program, RAFI in effect has exhorted our fellow Cebuanos to go and see the past as showcased in our museums. At least this way, it is not only the tourists who visit the museums, but the citizens of Cebu, as well. For a token fee of P150 per person, you can see all the participating museums, which includes free rides to and from the different museums that will be opened late at night.

This year’s Gabii sa Kabilin will now include museums and cultural sites in Cebu City and Mandaue City such as the AboitizLand Heritage pocket, the Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House, the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Rizaliana Museum, the Augustinian Social Development Foundation, the University of San Carlos Museum, the Jose R. Gullas Halad Museum, the Museo Sugbo Complex, the Plaza Independencia Museum, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (this is the only Bank Museum) Museum beside the Basilica del Sto. Niño, the Casa Gorordo Museum, the Cebu City Museum, the Cebu Normal University (CNU) Museum (which used to be the Kempetai Headquarters of the Japanese occupation forces), the Fo Guang Shan Chu Un Temple and the Ayala Center Terraces.

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