Last June 23, this column scored a scoop with the news I picked up at former Senate President Jovito Salonga’s 89th birthday party that University of the Philippines sociology professor Randy David would challenge President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should she decided to run in the 2nd district of Pampanga in 2010. Since then this topic has been discussed in every news outlet. But perhaps all the political titillation is premature.
Last Sunday, Cecile Alvarez and I had as guest in our dzRH radio program election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, as we held a paaralan bayan on Charter change, the coming elections and Arroyo’s political plans. Macalintal opined that if Arroyo were to run for representative in order to be in the forefront to capture the prime ministership in a parliamentary shift, there’s something the pundits are forgetting: the new president is not likely to allow his or her term to be castrated, after spending a couple of billions, and hand over the reins of government to Ms Arroyo. Macalintal cannot see this happening. And if it won’t happen, he says, what’s the point of her running for representative? But supposing the Transitory Provisions would say that the new form of government won’t be in place until 2016? I queried. That’s a very big if, especially if independent delegates to a constitutional convention are elected, he said. Thus, there would still be little sense for Arroyo to run for the House.
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Yesterday, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Catholic Church drew to a close its “Anno Paulino,” the one-year celebration of the 2,000th birth anniversary of the great Apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul. It was a year filled with so many religious activities in the Greco-Roman world and parts of the Middle East, especially pilgrimages to all the holy sites associated with St. Paul in his three decades of missionary endeavors to help nurse the infant church. Tens of thousands of pilgrims descended on Rome, where he met his martyrdom in the year 65 or 67 A.D., Jerusalem, Athens, Corinth, and Syria where he was converted from being a fierce persecutor of early Christians to one of the greatest followers of Christ. My husband and I were among those who traced the apostle’s footsteps in Rome, and we will relish it as a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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Reports say that just a week before Anno Paolino drew to a close, Vatican archaeologists, using laser technology, discovered what is believed to be the oldest image in existence of the Apostle, dating from the 4th century, on the walls of the Catacomb of Santa Tecla in Rome. The fresco revealed the image of a man with a pointed black beard and high furrowed forehead, against a red background and a bright yellow halo. This is believable because tradition holds that both Saints Peter and Paul were temporarily interred in the catacombs after their martyrdom and before their remains were transferred to churches (later elevated to great basilicas) erected in their honor. It was common practice among early Christians in Rome to bury their dead in the labyrinthine catacombs deep inside the earth and decorate the walls with devotional images. The newly discovered image of St. Paul will enrich the list of must-visit sites for his legion of devotees.
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Paging Mayor Sonny Belmonte. Residents of several barangays (villages) in the 4th district of Quezon City, particularly Lipunan and Horseshoe, are up in arms over the proposed construction of three high-rise condominium buildings along C. Benitez Street. City Hall sources say that a special permit for the project, introduced and sponsored by councilors Ricardo T. Belmonte Jr. and Edcel B. Lagman Jr. and co-sponsored by councilors Suntay, Banal, Medalla and Borres, was railroaded by the council without even giving aggrieved residents and home owners a chance to air their objections. The residents say that this project violates the zoning laws applicable to the area, and it would worsen the already very bad traffic jams there. They are appealing to the mayor and other responsible officials to stop this illegal construction, and to the 4th district councilors to revoke the ordinance. With elections a year away, what these citizens should do is to mobilize people power to block these officials.
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Magsaysay Awardee, priest and theater-communications expert James B. Reuter, 92, who wrote a Sunday column for Philippine Star for many years, has retired, and he is sorely missed by his many admirers. He also left Xavier House in Sta. Ana, Manila, which was home to him for a long time, and is now staying at the Our Lady of Peace Hospital in Parañaque City, which he had a hand in setting up 10 years ago. He’s being taken care of well by the hospital staff. Well, fans will have a chance for a reunion with him and other Reuter “babies” when a group of artists who had memorable stage experiences with him put up a concert for him on July 4 at 7 p.m. at the Philamlife Auditorium on UN Avenue, Manila.
Titled “One with You Forever—A Tribute to Fr. James B. Reuter,” the concert will feature various stages in the life of one of the longest-living and best-loved Jesuits. It will feature songs by such artists as operatic stars Frankie Aseniero, Fides Cuyugan Asensio and Philippine Opera Company president Karla Patricia Gutierrez. Sr. Sarah Manapol will sing a prayer composed by Father Reuter and set to music by Francisco Feliciano. Other artists who will do narrations are Tommy Abuel, Leo Rialp, Leo Martinez, Chinggoy Alonzo, June Keithley and many other artists. The Reuter-trained Ateneo Alumni Glee Club, among others, will sing his composition while he was incarcerated in Los Baños during the war. Overall in-charge of the program is environmentalist Odette Alcantara. Admission to this happy reunion is free.
