I don’t gloat over somebody’s misfortune

“Masaya ka na ba na napatalsik mo si Gatdula (Are you happy you had Gatdula kicked out)?” said a voice at the other end of my cell phone whose number didn’t register.

The guy hung up before I could answer.

He was referring to the dismissal of Director Magtanggol Gatdula of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over the Noriyo Ohara kidnapping issue.

This columnist exposed the kidnapping-for-ransom by the NBI of a Japanese woman whose stay in the country is not documented at the Bureau of Immigration.

The question or statement was grossly unfair because, first, I don’t gloat over somebody else’s misfortune.

I have matured enough spiritually to know that whatever one wishes upon his neighbor comes back to him—multiplied.

That’s the Law of Karma.

Second, it was never my intention to destroy the reputation of Gatdula who had a spotless record when he was with the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Gatdula’s fault was in being too trusting with his subordinates at the NBI.

There was nothing personal between me and Gatdula who is a friend to me and my brothers Ben, Raffy and Erwin.

Gatdula always accommodated requests from this columnist/public service show host and my brothers in helping seek justice for the oppressed when he was with the Quezon City Police District, and then with the NBI.

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Let me remind and reassure my readers that in criticizing people in this column, there is nothing personal between me and the object of criticism.

Trabaho lang. I’m just doing my job as a journalist.

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Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is releasing P500 million to build homes for victims of Tropical Storm “Sendong.”

SMC and like-minded firms call such charity work as “corporate social responsibility.”

In any language, half a billion pesos for charity is huge.

But as any believer in tithing—setting aside 10 percent of one’s gross earnings for charity—will tell you, giving to your neighbor in need pays huge dividends.

Individuals and entities that give away money to the needy become richer instead of poorer.

That’s because by giving away money to their distressed neighbors they are telling the Universe they have more than enough.

And the Universe, a huge invisible mirror, duplicates the “more than enough” mindset many times over.