April this year is turning out to be a particularly busy month. This summertime, it’s vacation and travel time for many, and hard-working time for most of us, as we cope with this unusually sweltering heat in this equally heated pre-election, season, and keeping up with fast-breaking events in the country as well as the rest of the world thanks to multimedia.
The Boston Marathon bombing last week was attributed to two Tsarnaev brothers from Chechnya, Russia who are residents of the United States. The older brother, Tamerlan, 26, was killed by Boston police, but the badly wounded younger brother, Dzhokhar, 19, still in hospital, may be charged and may be meted the death penalty.
Then two days later, people were killed and injured in a violent explosion and consuming fire that rocked a fertilizer plant in the small town in Waco, West Texas. Thankfully, reports say no Filipinos were injured in both earth-shaking and fiery events.
Speaking of the earth, it was Earth Day 2013 last April 22nd to “show appreciation and gratitude for Mother Earth” by continuing “to protect and preserve Mother Nature,” as Cebu columnist Cherry Ballescas so aptly put it. Cebu celebrated with a Green Festival on both days. The Cebu Daily News editorial on “A Heart for the Earth” mentioned that students and lawyers gathered in Santa Fe, Bantayan “to launch a campaign to compel local lawmakers to pass legislation” for the environment while Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Linda Bulido enjoined, “Make every day Earth Day.”
The earth is certainly making itself felt, literally, with earthquakes in our part of the world, the latest being a violent tremor that struck China Saturday last week, and global warming that’s breaking up icebergs and ice formations in the polar regions, adding to world flooding in some areas and ironically, droughts in other areas of the world!
As for man’s carelessness or indifference, what’s with all those fires breaking out, too, adding to more global warming?
For the commemoration of historical events, tomorrow marks the celebration of the “Kadaugan sa Mactan,” a cultural and historical event in Lapu-Lapu City, declared a special non-working holiday . There will be a reenactment of the 1521 Battle of Mactan at the Liberty Shrine in Mactan (and God deliver us from the repetition in portraiture of that disrespectful “diaper parody”!) I remember we of the Cebu Girl Scout Council (CGSC) attended the reenactment some years ago on invitation of our then CGSC president and now Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza.
Speaking of women as social movers, in this Womens’ Year, two of the 1st Justice German Lee, Jr. awardees include University of the Philippines Prof. Rhodora Bucoy of “Manlalaban sa Kababayenhan”, and Cebu Daily News columnist and environmentalist lawyer Gloria Estezo-Ramos of “Tigpanalipud sa Kalikopan.” Congratulations!
Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Michael Tan, in his column “Invisible Women,” mentioned women of distinction in national service, in medicine and health, in the sciences, including the social sciences, the environment, business, government and the performing arts, among others, many of whose stories have either been repressed or shortened in earlier years due to gender bias, and also probably because the women were not good in self promotions like men (for shame!).
So now, Tan advises us to do our part in making women achievers more visible by inquiring how to making nominations before June 30th to the TOWNS (The Outstanding Women in National Service) Secretariat at the National Engineering Center at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Call 9261516, fax 9224714 or e-mail towns.2013awards@gmail.com.
Still on women, Britain held a funeral with military honors for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Wednesday last week. She was remembered as “a war leader who restored Britain’s prestige as a world power following the decline of its economic and military power after World War II.”
More on outstanding people, two outstanding late Cebuanos the Cebu honored this month were Don Vicente Soltto on his 136th birth anniversary last April 19th, and Justice Sotero Cabahug on his 122nd birth anniversary last April 22nd.
And now, for a religious commemoration. Last Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday, when in the Gospel for the day Jesus talked about sheep who hear his voice and follow Him in their obedience and docility. In his Philippine Daily Inquirer column that day, Fr.Jerry Orbos, SVD asked us, “are we sheep or lambs, obedient and meek, or are we wolves—uncaring, disobedient and selfish?”
Fr. Orbos also reminded us that last Sunday was also World Day for Prayer for Vocations, the term from “vocare,” Latin for “to call.” And he continued, “We are all called for something or someone greater than ourselves. Unless we see life as a calling or a vocation for a mission, then life is only an excursion or one big vacation devoid of meaning, so filled with worldly and illusions.”
From Vatican City, we learn that the beatification of a slain bishop is moving forward under Pope Francis, for the late Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador. He was gunned down in 1980 after Mass where he had defended San Salvador’s poor and denounced government violence. His killing was one of the triggers of a civil war that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing over the next 12 years.
And now, back to community activities I am involved in. Zonta Club of Cebu I held a general membership meeting last week. Our club joins Zonta International on Nov. 12th through Dec. 13th, to discuss guiding principles regarding domestic violence and unjustifiable abuse, particularly to women and children. We shall also continue to oversee and monitor the operation of the Women and Children’s Crisis Center, also known as the “Pink Center”, at the Don Vicente Memorial Medical Center for the years 2014 to 2016.
Then on Monday, April 29th, we shall hold our Executive Committee Meeting of tge Cebu Council of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. Details on this in my Bystander-ing next week.
Until then, may God continue to bless us, one and all, we people this God given earth who are enjoined to take care of it!