Our time’s tragedy

I am gladdened by lawyer Rene Saguisag’s short piece on “Modest lives, thoughtless extravagance, society pages” (Opinion, 5/22/15) which virtually echoes my observations on the same subject. Those observations I have expressed early on in my letters that Inquirer ran in the Opinion section sometime ago: “Society pages play up extravagance amid hunger,” 11/27/08; “Elaborate, scandalous parties should be probed,” 1/12/10; “The meaning of the Porsche,” 1/24/11; and “Pacquiao, public officer, not leading modest life,” 4/28/15.

I share Saguisag’s lament about immodest lives and thoughtless extravagance played up repeatedly in the society pages of our newspapers amid hunger, poverty and destitution among those who have less in life. It sickens me to read daily reports in the media on the ostentatious display of wealth and affluence by the super rich.

I reiterate here and now my earlier appeal for a congressional probe of elaborate, scandalous parties, thus: “Should not Congress, especially the Senate, which anyway has a penchant for investigating practically anything under the sun, take a serious look at this lavish and extravagant display of wealth—‘in aid of legislation?’”(Opinion, 11/27/08).

Also, I reiterate my earlier comment on Article 25 of the Civil Code (alluded to by Saguisag), thus: “The trouble with this statutory provision is that it does not allow just any person to initiate the proper court action contemplated therein. It is relevant to ask anyway: Does this provision not impose a limit to the ‘freedom of expression’ of these socialites in the sense that it prohibits them from ‘expressing’ their thoughtless extravagance?” (Opinion, 11/27/08)

Yes, Rene, the rich and famous apparently do not care at all. They seem to be impervious to the suffering of the poorest of the poor among our people. This is the tragedy of our time.

—BARTOLOME C. FERNANDEZ JR., retired senior commissioner, Commission on Audit