Cebu in the ivory trade? Pure sensationalism!

First off, allow me to congratulate our dear friend, a fellow Rotarian and President of the Easy Riders Club, Mr. Eduardo “Eddie” Gonzales on the occasion of his being granted the rare distinction as the Honorary Consul to Mexico. This honorary title will be formally bestowed upon him by His Excellency, Mexican Ambassador Tomas Javier Cabrillo Unna, in formal ceremonies at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel at 6:00pm today.

Since Consul Ed Gonzales is also the President of the EasyRiders Club, when we will have rides in the future, we will feel like bodyguards of the other honorary consuls who belong to our big bike group, Sir Bobby Aboitiz Honorary Consul of the Netherlands, Mr. Jose “Cheling” Sala, Honorary Consul to Sweden and Mr. John Domingo Honorary Consul to the United States of America.

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Two weeks ago, I got hold of an online October issue of the National Geographic entitled “Ivory Worship” written by Byran Christy that became headlines of the Inquirer yesterday entitled “PH in Illegal Ivory Trade.” I have no doubt that this article was blown out of proportion because the Philippines has a very small demand for ivory. Let me quote that portion of the Inquirer that quoted the National Geographic writer, “Christy said the Philippines ivory market was small compared with China’s, but it is centuries old and staggeringly obvious.”

So if the National Geographic writer says that the Philippines was small compared to China, then why did he entitle it “Ivory Worship?” and put it in the front cover of the National Geographic magazine? In the center of this controversy is my dear friend, Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, the former Spiritual Director of Bukas Loob sa Diyos, a Catholic Charismatic Lay Community, whose only fault was that he was befriended by the National Geographic writer to the point of showing the writer his religious collections made of ivory and even admitting how to “hide” these religious artifacts.

Another good friend of mine and fellow Cebuano, self-made environmentalist Atty. Antonio Oposa also entered into the picture saying that his group would take legal action on this issue. But what will Atty. Oposa do? Confiscate those ivory religious heirlooms? Let’s ask ourselves, when was ivory considered an illegal trade? Perhaps when animal rights advocates surfaced more than 20 years ago. But before that, it wasn’t considered illegal.

What the writer failed to account is that, most of these religious heirlooms that can be found in churches are over a hundred years old… this is why they are called heirlooms. So please don’t tell me that it was part of the illegal ivory trade when it wasn’t yet illegal until 1989 when there was a global ban on ivory? The National Geographic article depicts Msgr. Garcia as a sort of ringleader for the ivory trade, which is total nonsense!

What is even strange is that the writer admits that China is a huge market for ivory tusks and if you go to Hongkong, Beijing or Shanghai you can see those nicely carved elephant tusks on display in expensive stores. But clearly the writer has a hidden agenda, to discredit Msg. Garcia who admitted that he is a collector of these religious ivory items so that the Catholic Church can be dragged into this controversy. Thanks to Press Freedom, Mr. Christy can expose Msgr. Garcia and nothing will happen to him. But I dare challenge him to expose the China connection of the ivory tusks inside China and he just might be arrested for it.

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Call it “quid pro quo” that the Liberal Party (LP) won’t be fielding candidates to fight against the domination of Rep. Eddie Gullas in the 1st District. But in truth, notwithstanding the P400 million that Rep. Tomas Osmeña promised to re-align from funds belonging to Cebu City, the Liberal Party isn’t doing the Gullases any favors. Gads! What short memories do you folks have? Remember a few years ago, I think it was in 2004 when my good friend Councilor Gabby Leyson ran for mayor in Talisay but lost?

There is no doubt that Rep. Eddie Gullas has done a great job in keeping hold of his power in the 1st District through good governance. Rep. Gullas doesn’t make enemies and above all, he is loved by his constituents. So the LP (which is actually BO-PK) is better off making friends with him.

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Yesterday, the Cebu media were given a chicken feast at the opening of the BonChon Chicken at the Ayala Terraces in what used to be the Don Henricos. If you’re thinking that this is just another chicken restaurant, it really is different because BonChon Chicken is an original Korean fried chicken fast-food restaurant. For instance, you can get a bowl of your favorite Bulgogi or Kimchi style coleslaw. So the opening of BonChon Chicken at the Ayala Terraces truly adds a new treat for Cebuanos.

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