A sweet dismissal for Rep. Arturo Radaza

The Sandiganbayan's dismissal of the case against Rep. Arturo Radaza on his supposed involvement in the infamous lamppost scandal, which happened during our hosting of the 12th Annual ASEAN Summit way back in 2005 is proof that more often than not, the reality on the ground is that our public officials are crucified first by the media (or those in the media under the employ of their political enemies) to besmirch their reputations… only to find out later that these people are innocent.

What makes this dismissal especially sweet for Rep. Radaza is that his case was dismissed under the Aquino administration, which has been noted to run after those who supported the previous regime. So the big question remaining is… who are guilty of this lamppost scam? Surely after 8 years, the Sandiganbayan should already know who they are?

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Last Sunday, we went to Crocolandia Nature's Park upon the invitation of Mrs. Beling Go-Ching Hai and Mr. Jim Jim and Nelly Chiu because it was their 12th anniversary. Honestly, I haven't been back there since 12 years ago when I went there for its grand opening. So it came as a complete surprise to me that Crocolandia has vastly improved its facilities. Knowing how things go in this country, facilities usually deteriorate. But not in Crocolandia. Today, they even have a very nice restaurant with clean toilet facilities.

Yes, the crocodiles are still there and Lapu-Lapu, the biggest crocodile in Cebu still has his own special pen, separate from the other crocs. As this is the Year of the Water Snake… I guess it is time for you to visit Crocolandia for they have many snakes which you can consult for this year… the biggest among them is a Burmese Python and an Albino Python. They also have an endangered species like the Philippine Deer that you can see and lots of birds, notably the Hornbill, eagles, falcons and a peacock.

As Jim Jim Chiu pointed to me, the Crocolandia Foundation, Inc. has a very good partner in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which gives them endangered animals that they confiscate from poachers that sell them on the streets. I thought perhaps that it is time for the animals languishing at the Cebu Zoo should be given better “living” facilities in Crocolandia rather than keep them in the old and decrepit Cebu City Zoo. Kudos once again to the Crocolandia Foundation for not only maintaining and upgrading their facilities… they have become one of Cebu's eco-tourism attraction. It is a "must-see" for foreign tourists.

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Also last Sunday, from Talisay we drove to Carcar to visit the properties of the Avila Family that were handed down to us from our grandfather Don Jose Avila. It's been sometime since I've gone to these farmlands and it was a good way to reconnect with my past in Carcar. After all, the Avila Family lived in Carcar before they moved to Parian in Cebu City.

We went to St. Catherine's Church and it was a good time for me to go around this historic site and let me say that I was pleased with its development especially for tourism. Yes, the Dispensary was beautifully renovated by Gov. Gwen Garcia and is now a museum. A little candle girl named Sheila Torres followed us around and she apparently knew some of the history of Carcar, so I gave her some money and taught her what I knew about the history of Carcar… and told her that she must learn to speak English so that someday she would find work using the English language.

The poor little girl did not know that I'm a descendant of Fr. Manuel Fernandez y Rubio, the parish priest of Carcar who finished the present church in 1876. Also in the Dispensary is the statue of Don Marian A. Mercado who built the Carcar Dispensary in 1937 and the Carcar Rotunda in 1938. I suspect that his middle initial is Avila because we are related with the Mercados of Carcar, although I could be wrong. Anyway the mother of Don Jose Avila, Doña Filomena Avila's father or my great great grandfather was Don Andres Avelino, twice Gobernadorcillo of Carcar from 1867-1869. After the Claveria Decree of 1849, he adopted the name Andres Jimena (or Ximena) and later changed it further to Avila.

The last time I was inside St. Catherine's church, the statues of the angels along its walls were on the floor and we complained that the main door was replaced by an aluminum door, which we found to be inconsistent with its original design. Thank God someone read our column and that offensive aluminum door was removed. Now this church is back to its original state as finished by Fr. Fernandez. St. Catherine's church has a unique onion shaped dome that you cannot find anywhere else in the country.

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