PHILIPPINES: QUESTIONS WHEN BENEFITS OF

REAL ESTATE
BUSINESS

SHOWBIZ
FALLING
PAGE 6
STAR BUYING
PAGE P4
A HOUSE VIDEO
PAGE P3
GAMES

Lydia De Roca
FROM PEDDLER TO MILLIONAIRE 12 NOW AVAILABLE AT

National
Php15.00 Bookstores
We politicize
economic issues &
PowerBooks
give an economic Fully Booked
perspective to
Scan QR Code inside for
political issues additional content from

We Take A Stand OpinYon Digital Edition!

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 VOL.4 NO.13 Visit us at www.opinyon.com.ph facebook.com/opinyon twitter.c om/opinyon2010

WHAT IF? A Doomsday Scenario

By Frederick A. Fabian
WHAT if a disaster of cataclysmic proportions
hits Metro Manila, home to more than 15
million Filipinosand the seat of the nations
capital? Are we ready to cope? Page 2
See
Page 2

feature BATTLE FOR TRUTH: KORINA VS ANDERSON COOPER 3

Opinyon413.indd 1 11/15/13 8:18 PM

 COVER STORY
ing in Tacloban and surrounding towns,
preferring to do a form of remote-control
governance rather than be physically pres-
ent where the people are suffering, where
they are mourning the dead and where the
children are going hungry.
That appears to be too much for his con-
stitution.
It seems that it is not something a
privileged, upper-class-raised Noynoy can
handle. How can a sheltered rich boy, the
scion of Philippine political icons and haci-
enda landlords, possibly bear the harrowing
sight of devastation and desperation when
its taking place in front of him?
The crisis is far from the safety and com-
fort of his Malacanang office. We can just
imagine that he will treat the residents of
Metro Manila the same way. Humans are
creatures of habit, and if anything, the
President is one.
He has a terrible habit of placing the
blame on someone else, as if he lacks the
capability to own up responsibility.
Incompetence Is Matter Of Fact
do not need to reiterate those facts to us, as
it is already evident in our history as a coun-
try: tropical storms are regular occurences.
The sad truth is that we as a society have
not learned so much from past disasters. As
philosopher George Santayana would put
it, those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.
Lessons In Foresight
Pecier Decierdo, a physics teacher who
works for Mind Museum and science advo-
cacy director for civil organization Filipino
Freethinkers, has provided pointers that the
public should always keep in mind when
it comes to handling disasters. He stated,
More storms make landfall on the Philip-
pines than on any other large country on
Earth. This one fact demands that the sci-
ence curriculum in the country should be
tailored to produce basic education gradu-
ates who understand how tropical storms
roll. According to him, allowing an inad-
equately informed population to live in a
storm-prone country is a massive inhuman-
ity.

WHAT IF?
As many rational and well-informed
Filipinos would tell you, Malacaang has
always been incompetent when it counts.
Some may dismiss it as mere cynicism and
pessimism. But several counts of wrong de-
cisions and late responses to a crisis is an
indicator not just of incompetence, but of
impotence.
We all know that this is not the fi rst time
A public dialogue on disaster manage-
ment should be top priority, so that people
will be more capable and well-informed in
handling the effects of natural disasters in
our lives, rather than wait for government
to dictate disaster measures. Decierdo re-
marked, We should talk about the weather
more. It is known that the country has an
insufficient number of meteorologists, and

A Doomsday Scenario
that the Aquino administration has shown
that it is incapable of delivering in crucial
times. From the 2010 Manila Hostage Cri-
sis, the growing unemployment rate despite
By Frederick Fabian his claims of economic growth, the 2011
vetoing of the budget provision for disas-
ter management, to the mishandling of the
WHAT if a disaster of cataclysmic proportions hits Metro pork barrel issue, the list just goes on.
Manila, home to more than 15 million Filipinosand the Reputable news analysts and weather
experts have predicted that the NCR can
that the public does not regard due status
to meteorologists and weather scientists,
which results to having underpaid and over-
paid PAGASA employees.
Underpaid weather specialists and un-
dermanned and ill-equipped weather sta-
tions result to inaccurate weather forecast-
ing, which lead to deaths and losses that
could otherwise have been prevented.

seat of the nations capital?
Thousands of lives will be lost and casu-
alties can run to millions. It will be a har-
rowing sight that will surely bring the na-
tion to its knees. That is, if we consider the
potential disasters on a grand scale, such as
the recent earthquake in Bohol and typhoon
Yolanda (Haiyan) that razed big parts of
Leyte to the ground.
What if, instead of the Visayas, Yolanda
took a path straight through the heart of the
National Capital Region?
The resulting storm surge would drive
the waters of the Laguna Lake inland and
inundate the lakeside barangays of Laguna
and drown millions of people. The loss of
lives and damage to property would be tri-
ple the Visayas count.
Faultline
What if the Marikina Valley Fault System
shifted and triggered a massive earthquake?
Are we ready to deal with such a scenario?
The Philippines, after all, is located in
the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of the world
that is susceptible to earthquakes and volca-
nic activity. The island republic is also con-
sidered one of the worlds most dangerous
places, because we are a constant recipient
of typhoon landfalls more than any large
country in the world.
As grim as it may sound, an inconvenient
truth is better than a comfortable lie.
TIRED of plundering politicians
who have ruined our country
and its economy?
Its time to take a stand and let
your voice be heard.
Join us in the crusade to eect
change in government and put
an end to ALL corruption.
Sign up now.
www.facebook/opinyon
The Marikina Valley Fault System ex-
tends from San Mateo, Rizal and runs
through Makati, Marikina, Paraaque,
Pasig and Taguig. It has been observed by
Phivolcs and other scientific experts as a po-
tential origin of large-scale earthquakes that
can reach a magnitude of 7 or higher within
Metro Manila.
A possible death toll, as predicted by ex-
perts, can reach 35,000, with an estimated
120,000 injuries. The earthquake will also
require the evacuation of three million peo-
ple from the potential disaster areas.
In a research done by the Metro Ma-
nila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study
(MMEIRS), funded by Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2004, it was
revealed that a 7.2 magnitude earthquake
can destroy 40% of residential buildings,
fatalities numbering 114,000 and fi res that
will result to 18,000 more casualties.
While the eastern side of Metro Manila
will suffer the brunt of the event, damage
and consequential damage can affect the
rest of the NCR. Dr. Norman Tungol of Phi-
volcs has advised that Metro residents, es-
pecially those living near the faultline, to be
prepared for the worst, because earthquake
prediction is not an exact science.
Aside from structural damage, another
risk looming over the people of Metro Ma-
nila would be the possibility that reservoirs
such as the Angat Dam would be damaged
and cause flooding. Building collapse can
cause electrical short circuits, petroleum
and LPG leakages from storage tanks,
among others, that would trigger fi res, ac-
cording to a report by online news site Bu-
latlat.com. Places susceptible to fi res are Va-
lenzuela, Caloocan, and the southern parts
of Quezon City.
What Government?
Newsfeeds in Facebook were fi lled with
complaints and angry callouts about the in-
competence of President Benigno Aquino
III and his lack of political will in dealing
with the recent typhoon. The complaints are
well-placed and unquestionably valid: at the
same space of the few hours when CNN cor-
respondent Anderson Cooper was reporting
on the lack of organized government efforts
in Tacloban City, even as President Aqui-
no was on the air with CNNs Christiane
Amanpour that everything is under control
despite contrary evidence.
It wouldnt be too far-fetched to say that
the President is being cold to the plight of
the people of Leyte, if his actions in the past
week after the storm is to be gauged.
After all, PNoy has been distant and
detached from the real-life drama happen-
become the next ground zero based on past
scientific data and environmental factors.
There is more than enough evidence to
support the possibility that significant parts
of Metro Manila can and will be subjected to
massive damage that can equal that of Ta-
cloban and nearby Leyte towns. According
to former Manila Chronicle newsman and
science/technology writer Alan C. Robles,
a storm like Haiyan could bring the Philip-
pine capital to its knees.
In his interview with MMDA chairman
Francis Tolentino, the official confi rmed
similar concerns by saying that it will be
just like Tacloban, which was decimated to
the ground when Yolanda struck. Tolentino
confidently stated it will just be the same,
if not worse, although he noted that some
structures in Manila are better built to with-
stand typhoons. He significantly added, It
will also cause societal disruption.
Welcome To Floodland
Metro Manila is 638 square kilometers in
area, composed of 16 cities, one municipal-
ity, and has up to around 15 million people
living in it. It is surrounded by bodies of
water and flood-prone areas such as Ba-
rangka in Marikina, Pasig areas near Rosa-
rio, central parts of the city of Manila (Blu-
mentritt, Maceda, Espaa, etc.), and parts of
Roxas Boulevard in Pasay.
The NCR is practically sandwiched be-
tween Manila Bay, facing the China Sea
on the west side and Laguna Lake on the
southeast. Another factor to consider is the
northeastern part bordering the province of
Rizal.
In recent years, the mountainsides
there have practically been denuded and
logged to the ground, and residents in
the lower parts of Antipolo City near
Marikina have experienced damag-
ing floods due to the accumulated rain-
water from Rizal flowing into the river.
The Angat Dam and the Pampanga river ba-
sins are also hazards to Metro Manila if a
super typhoon of the same scale as Yolanda
hits. In 2012, disaster management official
Edgardo Ollet admitted that the dam has
cracks and needs major repairs.
One can imagine that the combined
force of incessant raining and a highly pos-
sible super typhoon is all it would take, and
a deluge of epic proportions is just waiting
to happen.
Meanwhile Dr. Mahar Lagmay of
DOSTs Project Noah was also asked by Ro-
bles, and he was positive that another super
typhoon can happen in the near future. Dr.
Lagmay even put it this way: Its Russian
roulette. It may not hit now, or any time this
week, or the next, but the chances are very
high that it can and will happen. Scientists
Economic Consequences
Using 2009s Ondoy devastation as basis,
we can expect that a Haiyan-scale super
storm will bring in not just the strongest
winds, but the force of floodwaters rush-
ing in and submerging two-story buildings.
Business and commerce in the metropo-
lis will defi nitely be halted. Makatis main
thoroughfares would be clogged, and being
a neighbouring city to flood-prone Pasay, it
just makes it worse.
Roxas Boulevard, site of Manilas signifi-
cant commercial activities and facing Ma-
nila Bay, would be one of the most damaged
for obvious reasons. Metro Manila is located
in a catchbasin between Manila Bay and La-
guna Lake, which means that there is no exit
for excess water pouring in from both sides.
According to urban planner and master ar-
chitect Paolo Alcazaren, most of the drains
constructed since the Spanish period have
either been lost, covered up, or clogged with
garbage.
A super typhoon hitting Metro Ma-
nila will defi nitely paralyze the countrys
economy,because it will be more than the
sum of the past typhoons of the last five
years. Combine that with mounting govern-
ment negligence, festering corruption, and
lack of public preparedness. It is a tragedy
waiting to happen, and we cannot just stand
by and ignore it. It is time to learn by fore-
sight rather than hindsight.
Disaster Preparation
This doesnt mean that we should just be
fatalistic and embrace the apocalyptic end
times, because something can actually be
done.
This is where disaster experts come in. In
an interview with Rapplers Marites Vitug,
Kathryn Hawley of Asia Foundation advises
that its best to prepare for a worst-case sce-
nario and hope that it doesnt happen. Mea-
sures such as stockpiling of water and food,
strategic assigning of resources, land use
regulations, low-cost housing programs,
public awareness campaigns and poverty
reduction strategies can help absorb the
shocking blow of an imminent catastrophe.
A super typhoon hitting Metro Ma-
nila will defi nitely paralyze the countrys
economy,because it will be more than the
sum of the past typhoons of the last five
years. If not a super typhoon, the threat of
the Marikina Fault System is imminent.
Combine that with mounting government
negligence, festering corruption, and lack
of public preparedness. It is a tragedy wait-
ing to happen, and we cannot just stand by
and ignore it. It is time to learn by foresight
rather than hindsight.
Disaster readiness is the only way to re-
duce the what ifs?.

2 NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 OpinYon WE TAKE A STAND

Opinyon413.indd 2 11/15/13 8:18 PM

 Politics
News from
Where You Stand

THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH

Korina Sanchez vs Anderson Cooper

SOMEBODY slap Korina Sanchez. Be-
cause of her reaction, Anderson had to ex-
plain himself for those tweets. He (Cooper)
only reported what he saw!
This is just one of the many tweets now
flooding social media over the recent ex-
change between CNNs Anderson Cooper
and local newshen Korina Sanchez concern-
ing the handling of news reports in the wake
of super-typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
Cooper was in town as part of CNNs
coverage of typhoon Yolanda. Reporting
from Tacloban City on the difficulties and
shortcomings of local relief efforts Cooper
said: You would expect perhaps to see a
feeding center that had been set up five days
after the storm. We havent seen that not
in this area. Some food is being brought to
people here at the airport, some water being
distributed, but these are very, very difficult
conditions for the people here on the ground
and its not clear how much longer it can
continue like this. Somethings got to give.
A lot of things did break from ground
zero: reports of a rising death toll and the
tales of frustration and desperation of sur-
vivors who have resorted to looting and
everything else for the sake of survival and
self-preservation.
There is death and destruction every-
where and Cooper, like other foreign jour-
nalists, were simply reporting events as they
saw it unfolding from ground zero.
Quick Defense
But here comes Koring Sanchez with the
temerity to hit Cooper for his erroneous re-
ports.
Korina, wife of Interior and Local Secre-
tary Mar Roxas II and ex-flame of President
Noynoy Aquino, was quick to give her re-
buttal in defense of Mar and the PNoy ad-
ministration.
In her morning radio show Rated Ko-
rina aired over AM radio dzMM,
Wednesday morning,
Nov 13, she had a blind item
for her listeners describing a
blonde reporter ng CNN
whom she claims are giving
reports that are mali-mali,.
Mukhang hindi niya alam
ang sinasabi niya (It seems
he does not know what he is
saying), Korina added.
While Anderson Coo-
per is defi nitely not blonde-
hairedit was clear that
Korina was referring to the CNN newsman,
but she did not have the balls to name Coo-
per outright.
The exchange did not end there.
Aside from his report in CNN, Copper
also posted several tweets via his account @
AC360 describing what he sees in Tacloban,
which is one of the most affected areas in
the Visayas by typhoon Yolanda.
Cooper said that theres no real evidence
of organized recovery in the area and that
the people in Tacloban deserve better than
what they have gotten.
Anderson, host of CNNs Anderson
Cooper 360 also tweeted Everywhere you seriously nowadaysespecially since she
go you fi nd people searching for their lost
loved ones and Philippine military per-
sonnel are cleaning up the area around the
airport.. fi rst time were seeing this. And
because of Korinas reactions, Cooper was
forced to clarify and explain his statements
The Anderson-Sanchez tiff stirred dif-
ferent reactions from the netizens, but most
were irked by the reac-
tions of Korina and her
ill-treatment of a fellow
journalist. Many who
took Coopers side said
Korina had no right to
question Cooper who
was reporting on site
while she was dishing
out commentary from
the comforts of a televi-
sion studio.
Whether a knee-jerk
reaction or acting under instructions from
Mar, Korinas reactions served only to mag-
nify the incompetence of the government in
handling the crisis. And, to a greater extent,
she has made herself a target of the anger
of over half a million Filipinos affected by
typhoon Yolanda.
To the typhoon-ravaged, Korina is the
liara puppet of this government and its
ploy of dishing out candy-coated lies.
Sanchez probably thought that her
husbands directing traffic on the streets of
Tacloban could be considered a rescue op-
eration. Thank goodness no one takes her
hasnt even been to the disaster zone, read
another online commentary.
Apparently caving in to the online com-
ments, Korina got on a plane Thursday
to report live for ABS-CBN from Ormoc,
Leyte. She could have gone to Tacloban to
get a full reality check.
Battle for Truth
The Korina Sanchez vs Anderson Cooper
affair is just the tip of the ongoing battle for
the truth about the real scenario in typhoon
ravaged areas. On one side are international
journalists reporting on site and on the other
are people from Malacanangincluding
President Aquinowho are giving much
rosier updates from a comfortable distance.
While Cooper was reporting from Ta-
cloban City, President Aquino was giving
a reassuring report in an interview with
Christiane Amapour, aired that very same
day also over CNN. Receiving some ambig-
uous responses from PNoy, Amapour kept
his composure and did not press further for
proof of progress in the rescue and recovery
efforts.
While the President reported that a sense
of normalcy has returned to the typhoon-hit
areas, Coopers live report showing actual
footage from the ruins of Tacloban airport
painted a far grimmer picture.
It is quite depressing to hear Cooper say
that it is not really clear to him who is in
charge of the Philippine side of operations
Turn to page 8

PNoys Strange Twist

T
HOSE who have
watched PNoy careful-
ly in the last three years
have observed that
PNoy personally is not
a thief and this is why
I am really wondering
why he came blasting
out defending his personal in-
tegrity at least as it relates to the
question of whether he person-
ally pocketed any money from
PDAF in the past or his actua-
tions regarding the presidential
pork. I can only assume that
that was the doing of a shrewd
perception manager to divert
the peoples anger against pork,
legislative or executive.
I have not heard anyone
from the protest groups accus-
ing him of the same thievery
that the legislators have com-
mitted. What the protesting
public have sought, might be
called an over- reaction to the
glaring corruption practiced
by lawmakers, but in simpler
terms, they just want to get rid
of PDAF wherever it might be
located and PNoy has not re-
sponded to this issue at all. And
what has taken place in the new
budget just puts a different col-
lar on the same pork. It is not
a personal protest against him
in the sense that he is a thief
that pockets the funds. But it
is a protest to use presidential
pork as a political tool to reward
or punish legislators or to make
decisions in its use for political
reasons.
This is the crux of the prob-
lem, though personally seem-
ing honest, PNoy is just play-
ing politics with the peoples
money. He cannot seem to
understand that his slogan of
matuwid na daan demands
that he be willing to make the
decisions of his office in the
best interests of the nation or
region, and not based on po-
litical considerations and so in
this sense his integrity is being
questioned, i.e., he is not really
committed to the matuwid na
daan. And that slogan encom-
passes all of his decisions. That
is in short the leadership that
the people are looking for and
it is terribly inconvenient po-
litically. That is at the heart of a
one term office of the President.
Because he is no longer running
for re-election, he ought to de-
cide rightly while in office. Pur-
suing the matuwid na daan
ought not to depend on its ef-
fect on his popularity or ensur-
ing the liberal party candidate
wins in 2016. In fact, to pursue
this slogan is to ensure that
many people will not like him
and there are far too many such
minded thieves in our society.
But that is the cause should re-
ally pursue relentlessly. After all
he voluntarily chose the slogan
and promised to do just that not
some of the time, but all of the
time. He cannot blame anyone
for such a high minded joust
with the windmill, just like Don
Quixote de la Mancha and his
Impossible Dream.
It is in this area that the peo-
ples dissatisfaction at him is
focused. Because he has shown
that he is just another tradi-
tional politician, maybe just a
notch higher. This is not to say
that he has done nothing in of-
fice. There are some things that
he has initiated, but now is not
the time for him to falter and
slow down in this critical issue.
The entrenched interests might
hate him for what he is doing,
RAY
OF HOPE
Ramon Orosa
but so what? They dont care
about this nation, they just want
to hold on to power for genera-
tions and keep the people under
their thumbs. They certainly
dont care about the people that
is why they employ an army of
perception managers, skilled in
fooling the people about what
is really going on and they are
willing to do so at all cost, con-
sidering the returns that they
receive from their office: Dou-
ble compensation, excessive
salaries and bonuses, per diems
here and there not to talk about
all the kick backs from pork and
from other segments of the na-
tional budget, perks and prac-
tices that are as old as the hills.
All prior congresses have so be-
haved except that they have re-
fi ned it now to a fi ne art, having
mastered all the intricacies and
how to protect themselves or
shall we say by hiding the truth,
pretend that their asses are
clean. But oh how they stink?
This is what PNoy does not
get, or if he does get it, he or
his handlers are clever enough
to divert issues and prevent his
being pushed to the wall. The
long and short of it is that being
measured by the recent events,
he has shown that he may be
personally brave but he does
not have the character to face
what has to be faced squarely
and act decisively on matters
that really count. Well, that is
really not the strong suit of any
politician, and he has shown
that he is unable or at least
seems to be unable to rise above
the confl icted values they go by.
This is a cause for much sadness
for the people.
Indeed, if he just saw this
whole issue as an opportunity
to make great new strides for
the nation, to redeem her tat-
tered image, then indeed the
nation may be headed for great-
er glory. But this issue, which
he seems to be mishandling,
may well break him for the rest
of his term.
I would have wanted PNoy to
speak to the nation and declare
that he realizes that legislative
pork indeed is a source of cor-
ruption and that his adminis-
tration will pursue all of those
who are involved because it is
high time to reform some of our
encrusted structures. He could
have said that to do so entailed
some risk to him but that he was
willing to face such risks with a
mailed fist because the cause of
the nation is greater than their
interests and support. Maybe he
could have added that just like
his father, Ninoy, he believes
that the Filipino is worth dying
for, excluding of course the
thieves, unprincipled hypocriti-
cal legislators and their allies in
the pork scam. Unfortunately
they are quite a number! Whew!
I would have preferred for
him to justify presidential pork
at a much lower level because
he realizes that those funds do
not for the most part require
his personal discretion and the
funds could very well be part of
the contingency budget of line
departments and that these de-
partments must report to him
on the use thereof.
I would rather have him say
that Ps, 600 Billion is too much
but he does need some and so he
is voluntarily reducing it to say
Ps.150 billion. This kind of mes-
sage would have been received
very positively by the people es-
pecially if it included his decla-
ration that individual lawmakers
may no longer initiate projects or
interfere in it its implementation
because the line departments
will indeed undertake whatever
has been budgeted. Because if
the lawmakers have to reform,
so does the executive branch
which has been complicit to say
the least about the PDAF expen-
ditures, even in the use of His
pork as President.
In other words, the presiden-
tial pork should not be a politi-
cal tool as it continues to be and
has been used and certainly not
of that magnitude. The message
bottom line has to be that the
rules have changed and it is no
longer business as usual. But as
they say, Draw your own con-
clusions from his speaking to
the public which most people
were disappointed about if they
would dare to speak!
Oh well, hope springs eter-
nal and only God knows how
this annus horibilis will even-
tually turn out for PNoy and the
nation. PNoy is still our greatest
hope to move rapidly into new
directions, and he must also
consider that those against all
kinds of pork are not against
him unless he shows that he
does not really give a damn
about the peoples sentiments
except for show!

WE TAKE A STAND OpinYon NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 3

Opinyon413.indd 3 11/15/13 8:18 PM

 OPINION

From the
Chairman By Raymund L. Junia

I GREW up in the biggest barangay of this small
town, Tolosa, Leyte. This barangay, and the
town proper, face the Pacific Ocean.
In our side of the country, a typhoon is no
stranger. Were used to typhoons. But this does
not mean, we neglect any typhoons fury.
I fi nd the debate on storm surge interesting,
the term not being understood. One journalist
described it as a new phenomenon. Ted Failon,
E D I T O R I A L who comes from Leyte, admits he does not un-
derstand the meaning of storm surge. That really
surprised me.
Another interesting fact is, until this writing,
people in most Yolanda-ravaged areas are still
asking, where is government?
The dead littered the streets of Tacloban and
nearby towns until the sixth day after the ty-
phoon. Relief has not reached barangays and
towns just 20 kilometers from Tacloban City.
Relief was active only in media but zero at the
ground.
Media was well managed but not the relief
operations. Media was managed not to tell the
truth. Malacaangs problem was that it could

Death and Survival In my elementary days in the barrio, I remem-

TYPHOON Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) has
left the Philippines totally devastated.
With an official death toll of 2,357 and 600,000 people
displacedtales of death, destruction and survival have
come to light recently as normalcy slowly returns to the
provinces which suffered the brunt of the tropical cyclone.
Perhaps a side-effect of the Janet Lim-Napoles pork
barrel scandal, but the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) has confirmed that most of the donations will not be
handed over to government agencies, but instead sentas
directly as possibleto the affected communities.
Worse, there are also reports that US Marines escort-
ing cargoes of relief goods from the United Nations have
been instructed not to let Philippine government officials
and politicians get their hands on relief goods that are
scheduled to arrive in Samar aboard five C130 planes.
Has the image of the Filipino government official gone
ber every time there was a typhoon, we had our
own coast guards. They took turns in watch-
ing the sea level and ready to issue a bandillo
(public warning) on the rising of the sea level
and imminent flooding of the barangay.
There being no satellite warning on TV then,
this was the method of early warning to prevent
deaths from big waves and rising sea levelsa
storm surge.
That many lives were spared and saved
from Yolandas fury in my town, I think this
primitive early warning system did it. Al-
though folks way back home say San Miguel
saved lives in the middle of Yolandas strike.
On San Miguel saving the town, I very much
agree. Our patron saint had always come to
the rescue of this town.
In the Midst of Tragedy
not manage foreign media like CNN, ABC news
and others. They could not control social media
also.
How media was managed could be seen from
the reaction of ABSCBN channel 2 over reports
by CNN of absence of government at ground
Zero. Korina Sanchez embarrassed herself in her
refuting reports by CNNs Anderson Cooper.
She was swarmed in social media by accusations
of her impartiality in defense of Pres. Aquinos
leadership and for lying bare faced on the true
situation in Leyte.
Easily, Korina Sanchez stood out as a disgrace
to Philippine journalism.
CNN is the new shining example if not the
hero in true journalism and Channel 2 lost much
of its credibility.
Enough lies please.

I
so crookedly low that he cant be trusted even during this
time of great crisis?
You fi ll in the answer to this one, reader. N the midst of the tragedy of Warsaw is fasting in protest of
Survivors became increasingly frustrated with the the 6th category mediocrity the earths climate.
governments slow response to distribute badly needed and incompetence that is BS Swanson also headlines, How
food and water. Tacloban City officials have reported that Aquino and his government the US can dress up war as disas-
team, the volunteerism of ter relief to the Philippines. The
only 20 percent of the typhoon victims have received aid.
There have been reports and video footage of near anar-
many Filipinos gave hope.
Taipan Millan, a young PEOPLES U.S. is puffing up its aircraft car-
riers and military relief role to: 1)
chy as some people resorted to looting warehouses and
shops to fi nd food, water and supplies. The images are
citizen with a group of his STRUGGLE justify to Americans massive US
peers mobilized members of military spending and, 2) its pivot
enough to make anyone cringe. civic and business groups like Mentong Laurel to Asia. Deprecating BS Aquino
The storm has passed but the death toll continues to the Rotary Club of Caloocan and and RP government highlights in-
rise. Eight people were crushed to death when alleged companies like Frabelle Fish- competence to justify U.S. inser-
looters decided to raid a government stockpile of rice in ing Corporation to ship food of Malampaya raises the ques- tion. Meanwhile jet setting Pinoy
the town of Alangalang, Leyte. In another incident, a and relief goods to various parts tion: Doesnt the DoE have an anthropogenic global warming
homeowner shot and killed a number of persons outside of Leyte and Samar that were obligation to keep power rates alarmist Yeb Sano waxes melo-
not being reached by the main- steady and at continuously af- dramatic using the Leyte tragedy
his home thinking they were out to rob him of his food
stream foreign and government fordable rates anymore to help to fast and reinforce false man-
and supplies. relief operations getting clogged people and enterprises maintain made global warming (GW) the-
Looters, officials said, should not be treated as crimi- up on the roads and airports. predictable overhead cost? The ory. Go to Center for Research on
nals since they are just desperate for food and water. Its Fishing vessels Chrysanthe- authorities used to ensure such Globalizations list of funding for
all a matter of survival and self-preservation. But what mum and Brilliant Star leaves steady supply to make home the fraud.
about those who break into ATM machines, steal tele- Sangley for Tacloban while Wood- and business planning possible
vision sets, chest freezers and small appliances essential rose from Navotas goes to Ormoc, by maintaining a balance in the The Next Disaster
for survival? It has also become a field day for common Sogod, Tacloban, Biliran, Tanauan power supply mix. Its not if but when the
thieves. and Guian, and Verbena leaves In the midst of the continu- next natural disaster will strike
President Benigno is embattled as ever, this time fend- Navotas for Sogod only. ing struggle heroes often go un- the Philippines and our fami-
One of our OpinYon writ- sung, but this week we will sing lies in the line of another super
ing off supposed false reports on the number of deaths,
ers, Liza Gaspar sought help to our hymns of praise to Mang typhoon or an Intensity 9 earth-
which was initially pegged at above 10,000. At ground locate her Aunt Noemi and fam- Naro (Genaro) Lualhati, one of quake. Government should lead
zero, aid workers and survivors are increasingly becom- ily in Brgy. San Isideo, Sta. Fe, the leaders of LAMP (Lawyers in getting every barangay to fab-
ing skeptical of the Presidents comments. Leyte. Well ask Frabelle Fishing Against Monopoly and Poverty) ricate heavy equipment at the
They expect PNoy to give it to them straight like the to radio their ship captains to who in 2003 won the P30-billion lowest costsee Open Source
promises of his Daang Matuwid. help in the search when arriving refund of the income tax Meralco Ecology for free plans on how or-
in the different disaster towns. had been charging to consumers dinary people can make hydraulic
Others who have need to search (which it is still doing). cranes, forklifts, bulldozers to free
for anyone there can text us at Mang Naro passed away last people from heavy debris; instead
our numbers below which we week at the age of 92 leaving of PhP60 billion CCT going to
HERMAN TIU-LAUREL will relay to the ships. behind his message through his waste. Learn from Cuba which
Publisher son Antonio, that the struggle buses threatened communities
TONYPET J. ROSALES The Spirit of Struggle for peoples justice against the by the hundreds of thousands to
Managing Editor As the nation struggles with power plunder of Meralco and its safe grounds, as in Katrina with
DAVE DIWA the crisis in the Visayas other cohorts in the ERC and Congress only two deaths compared to U.S.
OpinYon is daily struggles continue. The should be sustained. 1,800 deaths.
Opinion Editor
published by Digitek rise in Meralco power rates in I am not leaving the fate of
Publishing House, FREDERICK FABIAN
November-December due to ill- Beware of Gift Trojan Horses my children and grandchildren
Inc., with editorial Social Media Director
timed maintenance operations While Filipinos have to ac- to mediocrities in government or
and business oices CARLOS RAJAMIRA cept any and all offers of aid and the NGOs. I am buying used car
at No. 10 Pacita Creative Director support now, they should also jacks, crowbars ad steel cables
Avenue, Pacita be wise and wary. An Internet for every room my houses my
JOJO VALENCIA
Complex I, San Layout Artist blogger reminds us citing, Claro childrens homes. I constantly
Pedro, Laguna. M. Recto walang libre sa kano monitor seismic news and ty-
Editorial Consultants
DIEGO CAGAHASTIAN U.S. writer, David Swanson in phoon news. Dusan Zupka of
TELEPHONE NUMBER LINGGOY ALCUAZ Lets Take Advantage of Suf- the U.N. International Secre-
San Pedro: 214-0766 ERICK SAN JUAN fering Filipinos! sarcastically tariat for Disaster Reduction
RODRIGO CORNEJO headlines a report on a USA opined, I would dare to say
Email: opinyon.2010@ Today columnist proposal to that Cuba is a good example for
gmail.com Scan this QR Code with
RAY L. JUNIA use the U.S. military to aid those other countries in terms of pre-
Board Chairman & President your mobile device to suffering in the Philippinesas paredness and prevention. The
website: ATTY. SALVADOR S. PANELO read OpinYon Digital
www.opinyon.com.ph a backdoor means of getting the peoples welfare is top prior-
Ombudsman
ATTY. RICKY RIBO, Legal counsel Edition on the go. US military back into a larger ity for the revolutionary Cuban
JOACHIM JOSHUA P. MEDROSO occupation of the Philippines. government, in the Philippine
ISSN 2094-7372 V.P. Business Development While the Philippines repre- the people is last in priorities.
sentative at the climate talks in Turn to page 11

4 NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 OpinYon WE TAKE A STAND

Opinyon413.indd 4 11/15/13 8:18 PM


Chinas Mad
N
OTHING in China
happens overnight,
Stephanie Kleine-
Ahlbrandt, the di-
rector of Asia-Pacific
programs at the Unit-
ed States Institute
of Peace, said. Any
move you see was planned and
prepared for years, if not more.
So obviously this maritime issue
is very important to China.
The maritime issue referred
here is the contested area in the
South China Sea and there is an-
other one with Japan in the East
China Sea. These two areas in
the region, believed to be likened
to a ticking bomb just waiting for
a trigger to ignite it and explode
into a world war in the process.
It is quite obvious by now that
one of the reasons why China
and the other claimants are res-
tive in the disputed area in the
South China Sea is about oil (and
natural gas). And maybe the so-
called freedom of navigation that
Washington has been insisting
that China has to abide with, by
not bullying its neighbors.
But what about the maritime
issue of China with Japan? In an
article by Perry Diaz of Global
Balita - Xi Jinpings Pax Sinica,
he wrote : With no economic
value thats worth fighting for, it
makes one wonder what do these
Fury
I
F English dramatist Wil-
liam Congreve (1670-1729)
were alive today, he prob-
ably would apply to Sen.
Miriam Defensor-Santiago
(MDS), alleged PDAF scam
mastermind Janet Lim-Na-
poles (JLN) and Superty-
phoon Yolanda his most famous
quote (The Mourning Bride):
Heaven has no rage like love to
hatred turned, nor hell to fury like
a woman scorned.
The much-awaited appear-
ance of JLN before the Senate
Blue Ribbon Committee (SBRC)
last November 7 turned out to be
a big disappointment for viewers
and listeners nationwide. For
hours they held their breath --
from the moment she stepped
into the senate session hall es-
corted by a horde of policemen
garbed in full battle gear, until
adjournment -- expecting holo-
caustic entertainment, but noth-
ing like that happened.
I was amused for the fi rst
hour or so, then I got bored.
Sure, I admit I was out for en-
tertainment, but heck, I thought
that a bloody confrontation be-
tween JLN and all of them was
what we needed to be set free by
the truth.
Its baloney that the SBRC
Chairman, Sen. Teofisto TG
Guingona, Jr., purposefully
convened the investigation in
aid of legislation. But I do not
blame him for having done so.
Otherwise, he would have been
criticized for having lent refuge
to his confreres undergoing trial,
including himself. For him it was
a damned-if-you-do-damned-
if-you-dont dilemma which
would give him flack either way.
As for the forthcoming SBRC
investigation of JLNs husband,
Opinyon413.indd 5
eight uninhabited small islands
and islets have that is making
China go gaga over them? Could
it be that there is something else
that China wants that is of far
greater value than these desolate
specks of land in the middle of
East China Sea?
If China gained control of the
Senkaku group of islands, which
is 114 nautical miles west of Mi-
yako Island, she would be in a
position to control or block the
Miyako Strait, which connects
the East China Sea to the Philip-
pine Sea and the Pacific Ocean
beyond.
Like in the case of the Luzon
Strait the most likely route
for Chinese submarines into the
wider Pacific Ocean is through
the Luzon Strait, which is situ-
ated between Taiwan and the
Philippines. It provides direct
access into the Philippine Sea.
The Luzon Strait is a safer access
point than those that lie north
between Taiwan and Japan be-
cause the Philippines does not
have an anti-submarine warfare
capability and Taiwans anti-
submarine capability is relatively
limited, especially when com-
pared to Japans. Furthermore,
U.S. conventional forces are not case scenario is a deliberate
stationed in Taiwan or the Phil-
ippines like they are in South
Korea and Japan. (PH Sea,
Jaime Napoles, there is no rea-
son to expect any enlightenment
coming therefrom, as he will
be at least as clever a witness
as his wife, if his being a PMA
co-graduate and RAM buddy
of Sen. Gringo Honasan is any
indication. But the scheduled
hearing will proceed just the
same, the utter waste of peoples
money and the investigations
futility notwithstanding.
What I would have wanted
to see and hear was a no-holds-
barred SBRC session involving
a furiously questioning MDS,
a furiously answering JLN, and
other senators furiously de-
fending their integrity, such as
in the following scenario.
After JLN has taken her
oath to tell the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth,
Chair TG allows MDS to fi re the
fi rst salvo. MDS: Do you know
who I am? JLN: Yes, you are
Sen. Miriam Defensor...Defen-
sor...whats your surname na
ba? MDS: Dont play games truth, maam. LC: $&@%#!!!
with me! JLN: Im sorry that JLN: $&@%# also!!! Etcetera,
I cannot remember your name.
But why do you ask me, maam,
dont you know your own
name? MDS: Hoy, buang
ka, ha?! JLN: Buang ka rin!!
MDS: Gaga ka! I can have you
cited for contempt, and that
means we can jail you!! JLN:
E, kung hindi ka naman mas
gaga, sa kulungan na nga ako
nakatira!! MDS: Hoy, if you
do not stop your kabastusan, I
will shoot you!! JLN (taking
off her bullet-proof jacket):Go
ahead, shoot me!!
Instantly, security details
have completely surrounded
JLN with fi rearms aimed at
MDS, the senators and the gal-
lery. Pandemonium ensues.
Opinion
nica (Chinese Peace) that had
maintained Chinese hegemony
in Asia during the reign of the
Ming dynasty. The great re-
vival of the Chinese nation is
WHISTLE the greatest Chinese Dream, Xi
said before taking office in No-
BLOWER vember 2012.
Surmise it to say, Chinas
Erick San Juan carefully orchestrated actions in
the past two years are leading
to war against Japan and ulti-
Luzon Strait Key to China Nuke mately against the United States,
Ambitions, Stratfor, re-pub- with the goal of ending Ameri-
lished @manila times online) can hegemony Pax Americana
The geostrategic plan of in the Pacific. (Perry Diaz)
China through its Peoples Lib- Basically all these prepara-
eration Army Navy, is to become tions by China lead to its goal
a naval power in the very near of countering the move by the
future is being manifested today United States in its pivot to Asia-
with Beijings relationship with Pacific.
its neighbors and most recently Although there are other
with Japan. plans like Operating from the
Last October 31, 2013, Chi- East China Sea, South China
nas state-run Global Times pub- Sea or Yellow Sea, Chinese sub-
lished an article, saying that es- marines will soon have a cred-
calating tensions between China ible sea-based nuclear deterrent
and Japan over territorial claims
to the Senkaku Islands could
ignite a war. It said that Beijing
was preparing for a worst-case
scenario of military confl ict over Chinas carefully orchestrated
the disputed islands.
It seems that Chinas worst- actions in the past two years are
leading to war against Japan and
attempt to fulfi ll Xis Chinese
Dream, which is the revival ultimately against the United States.
of imperial China or Pax Si-
I am certain that if the fore-
going imaginary scenario had
happened, the general pub-
lic would have appreciated a
clearer picture of the pork scam.
More importantly, it would have
quickened the pace of impris-
MUSINGS oning guilty parties. Inciden-
tally, some people suggest the
Ronald Roy PDAF and DAP scandals will
continue to wreak havoc on us
for karmic reasons.
Everyone is screaming and tak- Hmmm...I wonder if the
ing cover, Chair TG fi res a 45 fury of Yolanda, the Category
cal. pistol in the air, and order 5 Supertyphoon, is karmic.(In
is gradually restored. Session is Hindu and Buddhist theory,
suspended for 15 minutes, after karma is the sum of a persons
which he yields the interroga- actions in this and previous
tion to a lady colleague (LC). states of existence, viewed as
LC: Can you tell us if any- deciding the fate in future exis-
one here has in any way divert- tences). How then can Yolanda
ed his pork barrel allocation to be explained?
his pocket? JLN: Yes, maam,
you. I personally gave you your What foreign experts say
kickback in your bedroom. LC: Courtesy of the Inquirer,
What?! Let me remind you WASHINGTON --- Nature and
youre under oath!! JLN: Pre- man together cooked up the
cisely, thats why I am telling the disaster in the Philippines. Ge-
ography, meteorology, poverty, nand E. Marcos.
shoddy construction, a boom-
etcetera, etcetera. ing population and xxx climate
Tacloban City was ruled by anarchists
after Yolanda battered it. Vandals and
looters smashed open stores and the San
Miguel Brewery plant to take everything
they could get their hands on. Clearly,
there was a breakdown of law and order
-- a lawless violence condition that
justified martial law under his mothers
Constitution.
WE TAKE A STAND OpinYon
The Viewpoints
and outlook of
the well-informed
against Russia and India. But the
Chinese submarine fleet will still
need to access the open waters
beyond the fi rst island chain to
maintain a sea-based deterrent
against Western Europe and the
United States. Until China builds
a nuclear submarine fleet (with
well-trained crew and support)
stealthy enough to routinely at-
tempt access into the Philippine
Sea, or submarine-launched bal-
listic missiles with enough range
to target the continental United
States, it will have to rely on its
land-based strategic nuclear
forces as the primary nuclear
deterrent against the United
States. (Stratfor)
There seems to be no stop-
ping Chinas PLA Navy with its
orchestrated moves in the East
and South China Sea. It is really
a full-speed ahead scenario and
anyone caught in the way, might
lead to a mutually assured de-
struction.
change combine to make the
Philippines the nation most
vulnerable to killer typhoons,
according to several scientific
studies, xxx and Supertyphoon
Yolanda (international name:
Haiyan) was one mighty storm.
What P-Noy says
Tacloban City was ruled by
anarchists after Yolanda bat-
tered it. Vandals and looters
smashed open stores and the
San Miguel Brewery plant to
take everything they could get
their hands on. Clearly, there
was a breakdown of law and
order -- a lawless violence
condition that justified martial
law under his mothers Consti-
tution.
Well, P-Noy is reported to
have said to a local city leader,
who proposed the imposition of
martial law, Ha?! Bakit, buhay
ka pa naman, e! , thereby be-
traying a childish bias against
anything reminiscent of Ferdi-
What a reader says
Expressing the sentiments of
many citizens, a reader texted:
Im ashamed to be a Filipino.
A CNN team reached Leyte
ahead of our national officials by
coming one day before Yolanda
struck! Then something extraor-
dinary happened: The President
disputed CNNs estimate of
10,000 people dead with a more
accurate count of around 2000
dead. 10,000 fatalities would
have drawn a lot of assistance,
but he chose to be honest!!
On balance, youre okay, Sir!
(http://musingsbyroy.wordpress.
com | 09186449517 | @ronal-
d8roy | #musingsbyroy)
NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 5
11/15/13 8:18 PM
 OPINION
Surviving Yolanda
MILLIONS of Filipinos suf-
fered the wrath of super typhoon
Yolanda (international name
Haiyan). There are countless
tales of death, loss and survival
especially from Tacloban City,
Leyte, which bore the brunt of
the tropical cyclone.
Via a post on her Facebook
account, Sheena Junia, 26, a
close relative of OpinYon Chair-
man and President Ray Junia re-
counted how she had to surf the
typhoons huge waves to save
herself.
Heres Sheenas story:
Loud Bang
She woke up around 5 a.m. of
Friday, because of a loud bang on
her door. It was the wind, much
powerful than she was used to
hearing.
She could hear window glass-
es breaking from her neighbors
houses. It sounded like the burst
of automatic gunfi re.
Bad weather, she thought.
She knew a strong typhoon was
hitting the province. She saw it
yesterday in the news. What she
did not know was that it was
going to be that strong.
Sheena tried to go back to
sleep. She wanted to because she
was too scared to listen to the
howling wind. Maybe if she slept
for a few more hours, it would go
away.
After two more hours of sleep,
another huge bang on the door
woke her up. This time, the wind
was too strong that it knocked
the door off, and then floodwater
rushed in. She got up in a hurry.
Her bed was submerged in water
in seconds. It was now knee-
deep inside her room.
She hurried to get dressed but
just after two minutes, the water
has reached her waistline.
It took her another two min-
utes to get her backpack and
reach her new surfboard. It just
arrived the day before.
By then, the water was now
neck-deep.
Surng the Waves
Sheena mounted her surf-
board and paddled her way out
of the house. She couldnt see
anything. It was foggy, the water
was black, and the wind was too
strong that it was hard to keep
her eyes open.
But she kept paddling. She
paddled against the strong cur-
rent until she reached the en-
trance of their compound in
Barangay Sagkahan Mangga,
Tacloban City. She was hoping to
fi nd someone, but she could not
see anyone or anything.
Sheena said she decided to
swim along the current which
she knew would lead her to the
8 NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 OpinYon
Opinyon413.indd 8
back of the compound. There,
she saw stairs that led to a door.
She immediately paddled her
way towards it, and tried to open
it but it was locked.
She quickly stopped and no-
ticed her bag was becoming too
heavy, so she did away with
some of its contents. Theyre not
important now.
If the water continued to
rise, she might get trapped, she
thought.
She knew she could not stay
there, so she rode her surfboard
again and paddled as hard as she
could against the strong current
to reach the front of the com-
pound again. She saw a steel bar
protruding from one of the bro-
ken walls nearby. She reached
for it and held on to it tightly. Her
surfboard kept her afloat.
Every time the waves would
hit her, she would fall off. But she
was holding onto the steel bar so
tight that she always managed to
recover. She fell into the water
about 4 times.
What felt like forever stand-
ing there-falling off-standing
there-and falling off again was
just really about 10 minutes.
The water kept rising, and
brought with it more wood and
other debris every time she
opened her eyes.
Sheena saw a woman float-
ing. The womanin her late 20s
or early 30swas alive. She ap-
peared calm. The woman looked
at her. She looked back. They
both knew none of them would
be able to do anything. She had
to let the woman float away.
Call for Help
Sheena was just about to lose
all her strength when she saw a
group of people. In that group
was a pregnant woman and a
childbreaking a door open from
a balcony nearby.
She called for help. Most of
them did not hear her, or maybe
tried to ignore her. After a few
more calls, one of the strang-
ers looked at her direction. That
gave her some comfort.
There was nowhere she could
plant her feet. She held on a win-
dow grill to start her way. She
moved from one window to an-
other until she reached the spot
near where the other people were.
She was holding on to the grill,
and her surfboard. She had to let
one go so she can reach out for the
hand of one of the strangers.
She took a leap of faith, and
ditched her surfboard.
I almost fell and barely made
it, she said.
The water was continuing to
rise when she got to the balcony.
They needed to move to the next
house which was bigger. They
WE TAKE A STAND
passed through gutters and scaf-
folds.
They all made it safely to the
house, even if she slipped a few
times. A few scratches here and
there but nothing she was wor-
ried about it.
Riding the Storm Out
They stayed there, watching
people drown to death outside.
They could not do anything.
This went on until around 10:30
am when the wind died down a
bit. They started to help whoever
they can.
Around 11 am, the water
started subsiding, slowly un-
folding the devastation caused
by the strongest typhoon ever
recorded in recent times.
Sheena remembers seeing
a lot of dead bodies. Almost all
houses in her neighborhood
were destroyed. She had to stay
at a friends house for three days.
For the next few days, Sheena
went out with her friends to look
for food. Her friends have always
treated her as one of the boys, so
she went out to loot with them.
She remembers going to Rob-
insons or Gaisanomalls that
had supermarkets. Literal na
hanap buhay, she said. (We liter-
ally looked for anything that can
help keep us alive.)
Shes not proud of itthe
looting.
We had to do it to survive,
she said.
Hunger and Thirst
She remembers being thirsty,
and trying to buy a small bottle
of tea for PhP200. But they would
not sell it to her.
She remembers trying to ride
a pedicab offering to pay a thou-
sand pesos, but the driver did
not want money.
They wanted water as pay-
ment. She had none.
Sheena arrived in Manila
Tuesday, Nov. 13, night via a
commercial fl ight.
She now has fever. She feels
weak. She said whatever hap-
pened to her is just starting to
sink in.
She said she does not want to
go back to Tacloban, but she has
not heard from her mother and
grandfather who lived in Tolosa
town.
If she does not hear from
them in the next few days, she
will come back to Tacloban and
look for them.
Sheena used to operate air-
port vans in Tacloban for a liv-
ing. She does not know how
shell start again.
I wont be able to make plans
until I know my family is safe.
Sheenas fight for survival
goes on.
What Should We Do
After Haiyan?
D
AYS before typhoon
Haiyan (Yolanda in
local news) made
landfall, the entire
Philippines was al-
ready alerted by local
and international
weather stations. We
knew ahead of time that Hai-
yan will take many lives, ruin
many buildings, flood many
roads, uproot many trees and
place many of our kababayans
on square one. Square one is
where everything and every-
one has to start from scratch.
Square one is the land be-
fore airports, houses, and cell
sites were built. Square one
is where all you have is the
landscape and thousands of
survivors. Square one where
Haiyan left many of us. The
question is, how do we re-
build? Whats the plan?
I asked this question to our
authorities, and once again,
the central government has
stonewalled on its answer.
Silence. Hesitation. Unpre-
paredness. What authorities
are proud of are the relief op-
erations. I do not mean to triv-
ialize relief operations, but,
when they are not coupled by
any rehabilitation efforts, re-
lief operations transform vic-
tims into beggars. If all the
authorities plan on doing is
to conduct relief operations,
we will soon have squatters
all over the affected islands of
Bohol, Cebu and Leyte.
Since the central govern-
ment is low on vision and
planning, lets light the path
for them (and pray that they
may have the humility to lis-
ten instead of walking out).
Simultaneous with relief
operations, lets restore power,
water and phone lines by cre-
ative means. We can fly in al-
ternative energy sources and
place call centers (as in, an
area with functioning phones
offering free calls). All com-
munication lines must be re-
stored and kept open not only
for the victims, but also for
those conducting rehabilita-
tion missions.
Employ thousands of un-
employed nurses, utility men
and underemployed profes-
sionals from all over the coun-
try and deploy them to the
disaster-hit areas to conduct
search-and-rescue missions.
Lets not ask for volunteers.
Lets employ the unemployed
who can devote their full time,
attention and expertise to
searching for and rescuing all
the living and the dead.
Construct shelters that are
livable. Existing structures
are suspect (and may have
circumvented the standards
Korina Sanchez...
From page 3
as it shows the lack of leader-
ship in a time of crisis. As an-
other reporter from ABC News
claims: the Philippine govern-
ment has become paralized in
the face of disaster.
And for a local news an-
chor like Sanchez to go on the
defensive makes matters even
stranger for outsiders like Coo-
per and other foreign observers.
The US Marines have swung
into action, as expected. But
there are only hundreds of
them right now and they must
fi rst coordinate with the Philip-
pine government.
SO THE
PEOPLE
MAY KNOW
Atty. Sara Jane A. Suguitan
under our building codes).
Local shelters are merely big
basketball courts turned refu-
gee camps. Imagine yourself
and your family fleeing to
these basketball courts with
only your clothes on while
waiting for the storm to sub-
side. Theres no potable water
and comfort rooms to relieve
yourself. You eat in doled-
out paper plates on the floor.
You are given uncooked rice
(bigas), canned sardines and
noodles in their plastic wrap-
per. (Apparently, victims are
expected to flee with their gas
tanks and stoves.) How are
you supposed to cook these
food given by the social wel-
fare office? If you cant imag-
ine yourself in such a situa-
tion, neither can the victims.
So instead of those raw junk
food, we should construct or
install portable kitchens, mess
halls and toilets in evacua-
tion centers. Whats the use
of raw food if you have no
means to cook? Whats the
use of cooked food if you have
to eat it with your bare hands
while sitting on the floor? And
whats the use of eating if you
have no place to pee or poop?
Conditions are dire in these
evacuation centers. Lets make
them livable, not the sub-
standard things that are like
the DPWH-made roads and
bridges. I mean, livable!
Foreign aid as well as local
donations must be trackable.
It must be assumed that do-
nating to local government
units do not trickle down to
the end-users (victims) and
instead, end up in our leaders
private bank accounts.
In the medium term (if
not, ASAP), we will need to
rebuild. With tens of thou-
sands whose lives are on hold,
low-cost housing, temporary
schools, stores and bank-
ing systems will be naturally
formed. If the government
continues to fail in provid-
ing basic services, the private
sector will take over. Unfortu-
nately for the poor, they will
not be able to afford that, and
that is the consequence of vot-
ing poorly.
Follow the author on twitter @
coffeeright.
The United Nations and
other countries are sending re-
lief through the United Nations
Food Programme. Reports say
that US Marines escorting the
UN relief have been instructed
to keep government officials
and politicians from touching
the relief goods.
How low can our image as a
people get?
Exposing, yet again, the
incompetence of the PNoy ad-
ministration, the people want
somebody to turn to in this
hour of great need.
If PNoy fails to meet this lat-
est challenge, it may take more
than a Korina Sanchez to save
his administration.
11/15/13 8:18 PM
 Agriculture
Govt Told: Give
Hot Rice to
Typhoon Victims
UN: 1M Pinoy Farmers
THE leader of a farmers and irrigators
coalition called on government to donate
Aected by Yolanda
all smuggled rice to the Yolanda survivors
amid reports that some 200,000 sacks of
hot rice have again reached the Davao port.
Rosendo So, chair of the Abono partyl-
ist and president of the group Samahang
Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), said
government should directly donate and
distribute the seized hot rice to Yolanda
survivors instead of auctioning it.
If they auction it, these smugglers
might just buy the rice back, he said in a
statement sent to newspapers on Friday.
These should be given instead to the
survivors of the typhoon, he added as he
urged the government to step up its cam-
paign against the entry of smuggled rice.
He said some 200,000 cavans of hot
rice have reached the Davao port. This
is alarming, So said. Smuggled rice con-
tinues to enter the country. He did not
provide more details. OVER one million Filipino farmers have That area is the major rice produc- they get restored irrigation infrastruc-
Earlier, the lawyer of two rice import- been impacted by typhoon Yolanda (in- ing area for the Philippines, FAOs Jeff ture. That has been severely damaged in
ing companies questioned the govern- ternational name: Haiyan), according to Tschirley told BBC News. most cases, said Tschirley.
ment for the seizure of the companies rice a United Nations report. Theyve just fi nished their harvest As well as rice and sugar cane, the
shipment when the government could no The Food and Agriculture Organisa- and because it is not modernized pro- FAO is most concerned about coconut
longer impose import permits after their tion (FAO) says that hundreds of thou- duction, they are still drying it but we plantations.
Quantitative Restriction (QR) under the sands of hectares of rice plantations have suspect there is a lot of rice that is vul- Coconuts account for nearly half the
World Trade Organization (WTO) rules been destroyed. nerable to having been impacted by the Philippines agricultural exports and the
lapsed in June 2012. Coconut plantations which are a big storms. country is the worlds biggest producer of
So said the Department of Agriculture earner of foreign currency were also Self sufficient coconut oil. A smaller typhoon last year
(DA) and the Bureau of Customs seized reported to have been completely flat- The farmers are also facing into the destroyed 500,000 tons.
403 container vans of smuggled rice in tened. next planting season with much of their The sugar cane fields can be recov-
Davao last month. Fishing communities have also be se- infrastructure such as irrigation equip- ered relatively well even if the harvest is
So said he saw no reason for rice pric- verely affected with the storm destroying ment affected by the typhoon. lost, said Jeff Tschirley.
es to rise since the P2.5 million worth of boats and gear. The Philippines has been importing But numerous coconut plantations
damage that Yolanda wrought in the Vi- The FAO says they have arrived at the less rice over the past five years, but the have been completely flattened, and with
sayas ricefields was only minimal. figure of farmers affected by looking at storm will have dramatically changed coconuts you are looking at multiple
He said PhP2.5 billion worth of dam- the pathway the storm took as it passed that. years to recover the productivity.
aged ricefields only covered four days of across the country and from an analysis It will set them back on their goal of The FAO is is calling for US$24m for
consumption of the countrys total rice of data provided by the Philippine gov- self sufficiency but more key is that those immediate interventions in fisheries and
produce. ernment. livelihoods will be pushed way back until agriculture as part of the UN appeal.

The Spark

P
AIN, sorrow, help-
lessness equals des-
peration. This was
what majority of the
recent super typhoon
Yolanda wrought to
thousands of its vic-
tims in the Visayan
region, hitting areas like Ta-
cloban, Leyte, Iloilo, Cebu and
Palawan, like a giant whirlwind
swapping across islands in its
path of destruction.
Most shameful of all amidst
the suffering people of the Vi-
sayas, was the fact that it drew
the best and the worse in men
(the reports of the ram sack-
ing and unconfi rmed stories of
of killings for foods sake),
as well as the lack of immedi-
ate relief operations from both
national and local government
units.
The panic caused many to
flee (the lucky ones with enough
money at hand) via planes that
flew them out of harms way
as well as secured their health
from possible diseases caused
by the stench of hundreds of
decaying human bodies spread
out in roads and elsewhere
(hundreds are still an account-
ed for as of press time)
The question here is this
--- what has happened to the
billion dollar assistance given
by foreign countries and other
relief agencies? In whose hands
has it fallen again? When will
we ever learn lessons in life that
stare us naked straight at our
faces?
Filipino organizations over-
seas, who responded to the
crises, sent their respective do-
nations directly either to their
church organizations, or to
trustworthy international agen-
cies like the Red Cross where
they believe would be in safe
hands and delivered straight
to its intended beneficiaries
(Yolandas victims).
Truth Sets Free
For even in times of trials
and tribulations, the principles
of truth and justice are to be
taken at the fore.
The recent calamities
(earthquakes & typhoons) that
have shaken the nation on the
ground, is a timely awakening
call from the Almighty God for
all to repent of our stark iniqui-
ties. This is the time to ponder
upon 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my
people, which are called by my
name, shall humble themselves,
and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land. (The Holy
Bible, King James Version)
It can be considered her fi n-
est defi ning hour.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-San-
tiagos direct interrogations of
alleged pork barrel mastermind
Janet Lim-Napoles during that
fateful Thursday noon (7th No-
vember) is one for the books.
The feisty senator, believed
that Napoles could not have
possibly conceived the orga-
nized scheme of the century
alone, and then, siphon the
EQUILIBRIUM
Francis De Guzman
pork barrel funds into her pri-
vate accounts by using fake
non-government organizations,
even emphasizing the ques-
tion who put that iron in that
spine?
Citing a report of the De-
partment of Justice (DoJ), it
was revealed that Napoles JLN
Corp. owns 30 vehicles, with
another report stating that she
has 415 accounts in 17 various
banks in the country. Santiago
was completely amazed at how
a non-college degree holder,
was able to turn her life around
and become a so rich in such a
short period of time.
She also warned Napoles a
number of times on the great
danger in her life, of not reveal-
ing all she knew before the sen-
ate and the world, while she still
had the chance, stressing that
she needed to issue an affidavit
that would detail all she knows,
and implicate other senators in
the scam. She is totally distant
of the entire proceedingsbut
her answer is to be expected,
Santiago reiterated.
New Zealand provides P30
million assistance to PHL
New Zealand Minister of
Foreign Affairs Murray McCully
announced today that New Zea-
land is providing $NZ 850,000
(approximately 30 million pesos)
in humanitarian assistance to the
Philippines following the recent
disasters that have hit Central Vi-
sayas and Mindanao.
We are deeply sympathetic
to the plight of people affected by
these crises, said New Zealand
Ambassador Reuben Levermore.
We hope that the assistance an-
nounced today by Minister Mc-
Cully will aid in the rapid recov-
ery of the communities affected
by the Bohol Earthquake and
flooding in Zamboanga.
New Zealands assis-
tance package will contribute
$500,000 through UNICEF as
one of the key implementing
partners of the United Nations
appeal following the Bohol
earthquake. Another $100,000
has been allocated to draw on
New Zealand technical ex-
pertise to help the Philippine
government further assess the
earthquake damage and pre-
pare for reconstruction work.
Ambassador Levermore said
that New Zealands contribu-
tion responds to the interna-
tional appeal launched by the
United Nations after a new as-
sessment revealed that an esti-
mated 370,000 people had been
left living in temporary shelters
after the 7.2 earthquake struck
two weeks ago.
In addition, $250,000 is
being provided for urgent water,
sanitation, and hygiene facili-
ties for the confl ict-displaced
population living in Zamboan-
ga City, where recent flooding
has placed significant pressure
on emergency shelters and cre-
ated serious health risks.
The New Zealand Aid Pro-
gramme already supports di-
saster risk management and
preparedness in the Philip-
pines, including the develop-
ment of early warning systems
and hazard risk mapping.
Early Holiday Promo
Pioneering the now famous
logo low-low prices Cherry
Foodarama, considered the
first retail store in the country,
launched its early holiday promo
with big discounted rates for both
local and imported items.
Its Sarap MamiliSarap
Pumili promo was launched
in conjunction with its 61st Year
Anniversary that entitles Filipi-
no consumers to get the chance
of joining the said promotions
which will give-away 2-brand
new 6-seater Toyota Avanza,
with period ending February
13, 2013 during the fi nal grand
draw at its Marcos Highway,
Antipolo City branch.
WORD OF TRUTH: I press
toward the goal for the prize of
the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)
QUOTABLE QUOTE: Plow
with your eye on the fence post.-
Plowing Straight Lines (Our
Daily Bread Publications, USA)

WE TAKE A STAND OpinYon NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 9

Opinyon413.indd 9 11/15/13 8:18 PM

 OPINION

From Sidewalk...
From page 12
Customers would flock to Lydias Lechon to sample the
good food sold there. A big break for the couples business came
along when one day when executives from the Hyatt Regency
Hotel came along to buy some Lydias Lechon specialties. From
that simple visit came daily lechon orders from the hotel.
Maski nga di ko kinakaya kinakaya ko eh. Hindi pwedeng
mahina ang loob mo. Sasabihin mo, ay ano kaya ang gagawin
ko? Tatanggapin ko kaya? Mahirap kaya ito? Kaya ko kaya ito?
Ako palaging yes, she said.
e fame and praise for Lydias Lechon spread by word of
mouth to many prospective clients, including other hotels and LPHS Class 71 2014-2016 o icers: Gary Florido, Tersie Escaro-Labrador, Rita Maqueda-Ricarte, Flor
restaurants, and food caterers. Datario, Nestor de la Rosa, Loida Barretto-Deray, Lumie Villapando, Willie Mascardo and Boy Villas-
In the 1970s, the Lydias Lechon boneless with paella recipe anta (Thanks to Melinda Mascardo-Pabello, also an o icer, who shot the photo).
got the fi rst prize in a competition for local chefs and it soon

A Pressure of Sorts on Ariella

became one of the specialties of restaurant. It was a boost for
the de Roca couples business.

One-Table Restaurant
After selling lechon from the market for 22 years, de Roca Arida in the 2013 Miss U

T
fi nally opened a restaurant--with a single table--along Roxas
Boulevard in 1986.
Talagang restaurant ang target ko. Kaya lang wala akong HE Philippine participa-
kapital pa eh. Hindi ko rin magagawang restaurant. Pero try- tion in the recent Miss
ing hard ako na maging restaurant, kaya naglagay ako ng isang Universe contest held at
lamesa at isang silya, she recounted. the Crucos Hall in Mos-
Soon customers started coming to her restaurant and one cow, Russia was a fi lial
of her frequent customers was mall tycoon Henry Sy, Sr., who
always had lunch there on Sundays.
and a community event.
And it was a pressure of
Nagkakwentuhan kami tapos meron daw siyang SM Food sorts on its rep as well.
Court baka raw gusto kong magtayo ng ano... Sabi ko, oho Everyonefrom kids to
gusto ko, she said. grownupswas involved in the
In April of 1989 the first branch of Lydias Lechon outside of fight of the 2013 Binibining Pilipi-
the southern part of Metro Manila , in Timog Avenue, Quezon City nas-Universe Ariella Arida to the
was established. is was followed by other stores on the eastern world beauty wrestling arena.
part of the Metro. From there, fast food outlets of Lydias Lechon Days before the competition,
mushroomed within the popular malls of the metropolis. elementary graders, high school
Although originally intended to be a close family corporation, students, their teachers and other
the fi rst franchise of Lydias Lechon was sold in 2005 for a fast professionals and residents of her
food and retail outlet at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. town were drumbeating, literally
Today, they are known as the biggest chain of lechon out- and figuratively, for their mate.
lets in the country. Presently, there are 21 branches of Lydias Various school bugle corps in
Lechon located in the Greater Manila area and Cavite. its rural auditorium pounded on
their drums and their majorettes
Hands On swung their hips and swirled
Now, Lydias Lechon has some 15 branches in SM Food their wands while the elders and
Courts, which account for some Php30,000 in daily sales. superiors commanded frenzy in
e couple is now the proud owner of a 1,500 square-meter celebration of her baptism in the
property in Baclaran, with a mansion and several luxury cars. international battle of beauties.
It also houses the restaurants commissary and roasting area. It was like a fiesta in bacchana-
e De Roca couple also have their own piggery in an lian spirit.
8-hectare property in Malvar, Batangas where they raise 800-
1,000 pigs. dad were with her. Meanwhile, the
In 2011, De Roca was awarded by Go Negosyo as one of the Prior to this, right after Ariella
most outstanding women entrepreneurs of the Philippines. had clinched the Binibining Pili-
Despite her success, De Roca remains humble and thankful pinas-Universe crown last April in
that her four childrenwho have all graduated from college Smart Araneta Coliseum, the whole
are not spoiled and have helped the business flourish. of Alaminos, Laguna was agog, for
Seven years old pa lang sila dinadala ko sila sa bangketa, the first time, in her victory.
kaya ang pangaral ko sa kanila eh sinusunod naman nila ngay- Tarps of all shapes and sizes
on, she said. with her photos in her winning
Up to now, De Roca still wields a knife and deftly chops up a form and printed with congratu-
lechon at the restaurant. latory messages were hang in the
Dito nag-simula ang swerte ko sa buhay. Kung sa tingin mo streets of the idyllic town.
di ako marunong mag-tadtad ng lechon, umasenso kaya ako, Doubly honoured, though, her
she said. bastion again printed banners
e smallest lechon sells for PhP6,500, and the capital for with her photos and inscribed
each one is in the neighborhood of PhP3,000. with the most gracious texts and
Lydias Lechon is also famous for its signature sauce made hung them all over the place, im-
using a special recipe, de Roca said, noting this is still some- mediately after she sealed the 2013
thing none of her employees know about. Miss Universe 3rd runner-up post.
Lydia has kept her lechon naturally simple but with no short Alaminos, being the birthplace
cuts. Its slowly cooked for two hours over charcoal and fla- of Ara, Ariellas pet name, is proud
vored only with tanglad, pandan, and murang sibuyas. of their bet. As a matter of course,
celebrations are still going on
around the municipality. Her kith
and kin are pulling their resources
In the Midst.... together to proclaim their love and
adulation for her.
From page 4
Ariellas dad, Arlesito Arida, is
Final Words a native of the town and so with
Its from Peque Gallaga: We cry desperately for demonstrable her mom, Estella Hernandez.
government responsewe get almost next to nothing. It is increas-
ingly apparent that local media goes hand in hand with self-servicing 9, 2013 at 9 pm with an opening
Malacaang press releasesWhat our leaders tell us is contradicted Both the Aridas and the Her-
by by the victims in these areas who are slowly able to give us the nandezes were active in the beauty
true picture of the realities of the situation.I read Marvin Xanth search competition of their loved
Geronimo who was there when Yolanda struck: that TV personalities one since day one.
and politicians like Mar Roxas and Ted Failon going to Tacloban for According to Fe B. Zulueta,
the photo op. They never helped; Korina Sanchez calling Anderson whose brother was married to
Cooper misinformed. Cooper was in Tacloban. Korina was not a sister of Ariellas mother, the
All those people who charge us for criticizing, for being nega- beauty queens family is clannish
tive, for Aquino bashing I am done with these people. In a very or in Filipino culture and context,
Yellow Army way, they try to hide behind an illogical argument is closely knitted.
that we cannot help if we criticize.. This man (Aquino) who is Aside from Ariellas town folks,
totally unprepared for the most difficult job in the country. friends and relatives, her buddies,
So my friends, as far as Im concerned, you choose him or you classmates and schoolmates at the
choose the people. But if you instruct me again to stop bashing this University of the Philippines in
man I will unfriend you in Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, Los Baoswhere she fi nished
and out in our leaderless streets. As bad is a business newspapers her Chemistry courserooted
headline lately, 7% growth rate still possible says rating agencies for her in the earlier local beauty
when Yolanda proves their growth are meaningless to the people. searches such as Binibining La-
guna and Miss Philippines Earth.
(Catch Herman Tiu Laurels weekly show at GNN Destiny Cable During her Miss U pre-pageant
Channel 8, Skycable Channel 213, www.gnntv-asia.com Sat., 8 p.m. challenges, she was on top of the
and replay Sun., 8 a.m.; tune to 1098AM, Tues. to Fri. 5pm; ; visith- ranking in the online voting.
ttp://newkatipunero.blogspot.com; and text reactions to 0923-4095739) It wasnt a surprise, though,
THE NET
[National Entertainment Today]
Boy Villasanta
because the whole Alaminos and
the rest of the Philippines seemed
to vote for her online.
wood Foreign Press Association...
In the course of the Miss U pro-
ceedings, Zulueta revealed she had
received quite a number of images
of Ariella on cam but most espe-
cially backstage exclusive scenes
direct from Russia from the Aridas.
My nieces are very close to
Ariella, qualified Fe whose sis-
in-law was murdered in San Pablo
some years back.
During the duration of this
years Miss U contest, said Zulueta,
Ariellas sister plus their mom and
his dad Willie Revillame but Pinoy
rest of the clan were monitoring on
TV in Alaminos and other places.
Some of them were billeted at So-
laire Resort and Casino keeping
watch on the event.
It was a familial force to reckon
with since, as Fe has concurred with
the rest of many beauty contest
observers, it was a big challenge
for the Philippine rep to the world
beauty search. It was deemed a
pressure on Ariella to bring home
the title because two preceding
Philippine representatives, Megan
Young and Johanna Datul had won
the titles of Miss World and Miss
Suprainternational, respectively.
Ariella, of course, did her best
but perhaps her best wasnt good
enough shes still our pride, none-
theless.
ShortsFormer member of
the prestigious Manunuri ng Peli-
kulang Pilipino and founder of
the respected Young Critics Circle
Mike Ferias Filipino-American
Cine Festival (FACINE) reels off
in Bindlestiff Studio in San Fran-
cisco, California on December
and Willie Mascardo, respectively,
kick-off reception at Club OMG in
436th Street at Market Street at
6 pm. Opening fi lm is Prophecy
of Eve, written and directed by
Ron C. Santiano. FACINE is on
its 20th year with a consistent vi-
sion of bringing to the world the Bubble Gang mainstay Babajee
cinema harvests of Filipino fi lm-
makers in the Philippines and
in diaspora. Peque Gallaga and
Lore Reyes Sonata which stars also known as Tita Mega C, as her
Cherie Gil closes the fi lm fest on
December 14, 2013...Vilma San-
tos and husband Ralph Recto
are still grieving on the sudden
death of the senators mom, Car- and filmmaking teacher Vic Tiro
men Gonzales-Recto, whos sister
to former Sampaguita Pictures
matinee idol Jose Mari Gonzales.
Actresses Cristina Gonzales and
Anna Margarita make Vilmas fi rst
cousins...Luis Manzano was with
her mom in Japan when the actress
celebrated her 60th birthday...
Kringkring Gonzales as a coun-
selor and wife to Mayor Alfred
Romualdez has been criticized for
holding a presscon on a variety
of food in her restaurant in Intra-
muros, Manila while their con-
stituents in Tacloban, Leyte have
been suffering with the onslaught
of calamities which brought death
and destruction in the area...Both
Thy Womb and Transit are
nominated to the Best Foreign
Film category of the Golden Globe
Awards, an annual event orga-
nized and hosted by the Holly-
Cristine Reyes and Derek Ramsay
arent lovers again but theyre back
to work in Viva Entertainments
Trophy Wife with box-office di-
rector Elwood Perez...Many stars
are mounting relief drive and
operations for the victims of the
floods in the Visayas like Vilma,
Charice, Marian Rivera, Ding-
dong Dantes, Ogie Alcasid, Pops
Fernandez, Angel Locsin, Bianca
King etc...Meryll Soriano has de-
nied she was gifted a building by
Radio UKs fi xture and one of my
co-hosts (the others being Claire
and Maxie Guapito) in the radio
show Chika Chika Time with Boy
Villasanta Fe B. Zulueta, whos
also a licensed real estate broker,
said it was a house and lot that
the father gave to her daughter...
SFX Productions honcho Perry
Pimentel and lady producer Joyce
Cruz went to Cebu City last week
to distribute relief goods to victims
of super typhoon Yolanda...Lopez
Provincial High School Class 71
in Quezon donated relief goods
to the Department of Social Wel-
fare and Development in Pasay
City through social worker Virgie
Capistrano-Rada, a classmate, for
victims of Haiyan. Meanwhile,
elected officers of the organization
for 2014-2016 are: President, yours
truly; Auditor, Tersie Escaro-Lab-
rador; Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer and PRO are Flor Da-
tario, Gary Florido, Rita Maqueda-
Ricarte and Loida Barretto-Deray,
respectively, for Manila chapter
and Nestor de la Rosa, Lumie Villa-
pando, Melinda Mascardo-Pabello
for Lopez-based...GMA Networks
entertainment reporter Lhar San-
tiago has a very vivid dream of his
former mentor, starbuilder, pub-
licist and TV host Boy C. de Guia
being already dead...Channel 7s
and entertainment reporter Ar-
thur Quinto have been in constant
company with Yvonne Benavidez,
co-hosts in DWBLs Kagandahan,
Showbiz, Kalusugan Atbp. every
Wednesday at 2 to 3 pm...Bruce Lee
fanatic, action star and psychology
of the International Peace Leader-
ship College in Sampaloc, Tanay,
Rizal has just fi nished a fi lm titled
Schizo, a take on a series of mur-
ders in a school with students ac-
tors as lead stars. Schizo is short
for schizophrenia.

WE TAKE A STAND OpinYon NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 11

Opinyon413.indd 11 11/15/13 8:18 PM

 Money
Visit us at www.opinyon.com.ph NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 VOL.4 NO.13
SECTIONS
POLITICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
AGRICULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
FOREIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P1
LIFESTYLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P4

LYDIA DE ROCA

From Sidewalk Peddler

to Millionaire

L
YDIAS Lechon is a household name
here in the Philippines, But not many
people know that its entrepreneur
Lydia de Roca started her business by
selling lechon in a small stall in Ba-
claran market.
In the late 60s, the family-
owned lechon storeknown as
Mang Turing and Aling Inggas Na-
tive Lechon, was doing good busi-
ness with a modest store located at
the Our Lady of Sorrows Church in
Baclaran. Lydia, helped out in the said store.
In 1969, after some courtship, Benigno de Roca (a son
of another lechon business owner) and Lydia got married.
e happy couple had a joyous occasion after their wedding
and with PhP500 started their own lechon busiess--Lydias
Lechon.
In a television interview, Lydia related how she used to
go with her father, who was a butcher, and how she started
selling lechon in Baclaran at the age of 12.
Ito ang naituro sa akin ng tatay ko noong araw, hang-
gang sa nagtinda ako ng lechon. Twelve years old ako sa
bangketa ng Baclaran, she said.
Yung P500 na yon binibigay ko na sa tatay ko. Pinambili
ko na ng baboy niya... Marami yun, P20 lang nun ang baboy
eh, she said. Aside from pigs, she used the money to buy
charcoal and sauce for the lechon.

Hard Work
At that time, Benigno was a jeepney and bus driver, so
Lydia has kept her lechon naturally simple but with no
they had to work hard to support their children.
Mahirap ang buhay namin. Pero nagtiyaga kami talaga.
Pinagsumikapan namin... Naranasan ko pa yung bahay na
nakatuntong sa ilog... Yun ang unang-unang inupahan ko,
short cuts. Its slowly cooked for two hours over charcoal and
diyan sa may Tambo sa Paranaque, P35 ang upa sa isang flavored only with tanglad, pandan, and murang sibuyas.
buwan, she said.
Turn to page 11

12 NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 OpinYon WE TAKE A STAND

Opinyon413.indd 12 11/15/13 8:18 PM