The jealous man and the Good Samaritan

On Monday, out of jealousy, Edwin Salazar Lumacad, 58, slashed the throat of his live-in partner, Bernadeta Zamora, 54, a mango vendor in Cebu City. It was a shocking incident in broad daylight in one of the busiest streets, Osmeña Boulevard.

The slashing was undoubtedly an unfortunate event, a testament to the fact that jealousy can be extremely dangerous as it blurs the minds of both the average and intelligent people.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, it augurs well for anyone to realize this early that jealousy does not hold any respect for age. It can burn wildly in the heart of a teenager or an adult. It is a feeling that anyone should keep in check.

Before the said incident, the live-in partners had a quarrel. In my interview with him during my radio program Straight to the Point over dyHP RMN Cebu, Edwin admitted that he committed the crime due to jealousy. His wife, he said, during the Sinulog festival kept gazing at another man, a water vendor. He noticed that the two communicated with sign language. “Giingnan na nako nga dili mototok ug gwapo ug macho,” he added.

Robert A. Heinlein said: “Jealousy is a disease. Love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy – in fact, they are almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other.”

It is said that the greatest conqueror is not he who conquers the world, but he who conquers himself. Maybe it is a work in progress. Maybe we cannot do it overnight. But we have to conquer or manage ourselves --our pride, our disgust, and yes, our passion and feeling of jealousy.

On the other hand, despite the tragic incident, there was a positive thing that we can appreciate from it. A brave Nursing student named Angyl Faith Ababat did her best to save Bernadeta. She is, indeed, faithful to her course.

Angyl is still a second-year Nursing student, yet she used what she learned in school during the emergency. She didn’t panic. She was composed.

She deserves appreciation for being a Good Samaritan. The Cebu City Police Office is also going to honor her during their flag-raising ceremony this coming Monday, February 6.

Netizens think that what Angyl Faith did restores many people’s faith in humanity. One can imagine the great things she can and will do once she becomes a nurse. One can also imagine what a better society we will become if each contributes according to what they can do, whether as a Nursing, Medicine, or Law student, or just as an ordinary human being.

But this incident also highlights evidence of the sense of community; the first was when Angyl Faith decided bravely to help the victim, despite the panicking incident and initial hesitation as there were also other medical students around her; the second was when concerned citizens arrested the suspect via citizens’ arrest.

We can glean from what occurred that although society seems to veer each day towards sheer individualism and lack of concern for others, all is not lost.