Rama loved Bisaya stories, Rizal

I am happy that the police was able to finally arrest the Korean members of a carnapping ring that stole Korea-made Hyundai Starex vans in Metro Cebu. The group had Koreans and a Filipino nurse who would allegedly target Starex vans and sell them for a low price. Why Starex vans? Apparently the Korean perpetrators had a car manual of the Starex van which made it easy for them to be familiar with the model and open the vans.

The Starex van of former PBA player Mon Fernandez was stolen while parked outside his house like the loss of  several others, prompting Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama to  alarm Cebu City Police Director Natuel. The Filipino nurse even confessed Joavan Fernandez,  controversial son of Talisay City Mayor Soc Fernandez, had  bought a Starex van from them.

What’s up with these Koreans who are the subject of  reports of unruly behavior, involving fistfights and this time carnapping?

In Cebu, many Koreans put up their own Korean stores, which Korean tourists patronize and pay for goods at exorbitant prices.

Even the job of tour guides,  supposedly handled by  Filipinos, is being cornered by Koreans. They are sometimes  very unruly in dealing with car rentals to the extent that one can say that they really mistreat this Filipino counterparts.

I don’t know if it is the culture of Koreans but  some of them are hot headed and  get involved in a fight.   Though we welcome them to our country, we also hope that they behave properly as visitors.

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Today is the 76th Charter Day of Cebu City. As a member of the Rama family, it is doubly significant because the day is  synonymous with Vicente Rama, father of the Cebu City Charter, and my grandfather.

At the age of 19, Vicente Rama was already a newspaper editor and eventually founded  La Nueva Fuerza that eventually became Ang Bag-ong Kusog.

He was a lover of Bisaya short stories and novels. He started as councilor then became  congressman and mayor before he finally was elected senator of the country. His love for Cebu led him to sponsor a bill making Cebu a city .

He also loved the writings of Jose Rizal and  introduced a bill in the House of Representatives requiring  college students to read El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere but the bill was not passed because of the strong Spanish influence at that time. He loved his family and supported their education. All his 13 children were  professionals, including my late mother Reynalda, who was a pharmacist.

The late Cebu governor Osmunda Rama studied medicine in the University of Santo Tomas and topped the medical board examination. But Lolo Inting was also a disciplinarian. While he was in Manila to fulfill his official duties, Lolo Inting would not fail to communicate with his children in Cebu either by letter or telegram.

I am also happy that the 888 News Forum is one of the reicipients of a special mayor’s award tonight. I would like to take this opportunity to credit fellow CDN columnist Inday Malou Guanzon Apalisok who pushed the idea of putting up the weekly forum  with NAITAS Cebu president Jenny Franco. Both approached me to host the forum which had Parklane Hotel as its first venue.

There are eight members of the Board of Trustees – myself, Inday Malou, Jenny Franco, Dawnie Roa, Honey Loop, Rey Fuentes and Bobby Joseph. Our greatest benefactors today who have  been supporting the 888 News Forum are Bobby Joseph and Marco Polo Plaza  country manager Hans Hauri.

Reporter Elias Baquero is now the over all coordinator of the 888 news forum which is held every Tuesday morning at the hotel.

The forum was founded  six  years ago in the halls of the old radio dyRf in Pelaeaz Street where we were still housed in the building of the University of San Carlos. It’s an honor for the  888 News Forum to receive the award and  provide  Cebuanos a venue of free expression and a source of news and public opinion.