The news shocked me and all Oslobanons that morning. Its so sad to hear a valuable landmark, a piece of history in our town, a manifestation of how religious Oslobanons are, gone. Of course, Oslobanons can rebuild the church anytime but it would be different. I mean, it will not be the same 160 year old church.. the memories can never be restored.

When I was a kid, my grandmother who was a catechist always brought me to their meetings on Sundays held at the second floor of the convent. I used to play and run around every corner of the convent while their weekly meeting is going on. Oh well, I was a kid then. When I was in high school, me and my classmates used to stay under the shades ot the kalachuchi trees at the church’s facade to read our notes. Somehow, those gave me attachment with the church.

I took this picture last August 2007.

These are now what remained of our church.

An angry fellow Oslobanon and neighbor asked me yesterday who to blame on what had happened. My answer is, I dont know.

It was an unfortunate fire which could have been put off at its earlier stage if not because of the..

..incompetence of the Oslob fire station.

..inaction of the Bureau of Fire Protection and Oslob LGU on the fire station’s request to fix the firetruck.

..deception by the Provincial Government who donated the firetruck as “brandnew” kuno and eventually become unusable in barely two years time.

Monsignor Dakay nailed it right on the head;

“Mao na ilang suroy-suroyon, ang kahimtang sa lungsod, dili kanang idalit nga lechon og pagkaon. Dako ni nga tamparos sa mga opisyales (That’s what they should visit and explore, the situation in the towns, not the lechon and other food offered to them. This is a slap on the officials’ faces),” the monsignor said, alluding to a tourism promotion program of the Provincial Government.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2008/03/27/news/fire.destroys.oslob.church.convent.html

Bride sues runaway groom

A CIVIL case for damages and attorneys fees was filed yesterday against a man who left his bride-to-be waiting in the altar right before they were supposed to exchange their “I dos”.

Lilibeth Gaviola wants the Regional Trial Court (RTC) to compel her would-be husband, Ryan Sesante, to pay close to P500,000 in actual damages, including the expenses incurred for the wedding, moral damages and attorney’s fees.

She said the incident (their scheduled wedding last Dec. 22) left her feeling downgraded. Her “shameful story” appeared in the newspapers and became the subject of a few commentaries.

“Plaintiff has no more choice except to go to court and seek therein relief for the injustice and pain that she had suffered from the hands of defendant,” Gaviola said.

In her complaint, Gaviola narrated how she met Sesante back in college when they were classmates taking up accounting at the Southwestern University.

She said they graduated together and found work separately, meeting again accidentally only in December 2005 at the Saint Vincent Church in Barangay Sambag II.

Sesante, she said, courted her sometime after that and, by February 2006, they were sweethearts.

After a year of being steady, they then decided to get married, with Sesante asking Gaviola’s hand from her parents last June 17.

“The parties arranged for their wedding, starting with getting of the marriage license and church requirements, then arranging for the principal and secondary sponsors, place of reception, invitations and other details for the wedding. The reception was booked at Royal Concourse, with 100 persons reserved for the occasion. Invitations to relatives and close friends were made (as well as) video coverage of the wedding and reception,” she said.

In the morning of the wedding, Gaviola said she was at the Golden Peak Hotel together with her make-up artist, getting ready for the big day.

She, on board the bridal car, was already at the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish on Escario St. Cebu City 15 minutes before the schedule.

Sesante arrived half an hour late.

“Upon defendant’s arrival, his mother immediately wore the barong over him with his eyes seemed teary. Then, the wedding ceremony started with the priest harping on the delay as it commenced,” Gaviola said.

The ceremony, albeit a bit behind schedule, progressed without a hitch until the part where vows are exchanged.

She alleged that when the priest asked him if if he was willing to take Gaviola as her lawfully wedded wife, a girl wearing a skirt and eyeglasses shouted to the priest to stop the wedding and called out Sesante’s name twice.

Sesante, in turn, “without any hesitation or saying something or anything, turned his back and walked very fast toward the lady. They then hugged each other and went outside the church together.”

Gaviola said the priest even called out to Sesante, asking him to come back. And when he did not, the priest even went after him. But, to no avail.

In the end, the crowd proceeded to the restaurant for the banquet. She, on the other hand, went home with her parents, depressed.

i personally know the guy because we went to the same university and we were both members of a certain school organization. i must had met the girl too then, although i have not been in contact with them for a long time now.

i heard the story few days after it happened from former colleagues who were actually present during the ceremony. i was surprised this made the headlines yesterday in the local dailies.

well, good luck to both of them.

..despite all the shameless political bickering and scandals hounding our country today, there are still things we should be proud of being a Filipino! wohoo!

Filipino rocking the world!!

i can imagine how scared the people were at the fiscal’s office yesterday. hahaha!

he said his congressman father told him the dismissal was irregular! duh! he should have told you too, Mr. Byron Garcia that you could file a motion for reconsideration instead of storming the fiscal’s office.

of course like any government office, the porsecutor’s office is not an irregularity-free office (you could even ask your sister, Gwen). i support your call for a congressional inquiry! haha! youre a big joke sir! i suggest you stick teaching the inmates at CPDRC some new dance lessons. LOL

Yesterday, the Senate’s inspection at NAIA revealed more of this adminstration’s blatant never ending cover ups on the attempt of kidnapping NBN scandal star witness Jun Lozada.

They are making it further funnier by issuing up justifying statements, by the GMA cahoots, which some are contrary to what they were saying at the Senate inquiry last week.

HOT SPOT. These soldiers had a grand time browsing pornographic websites during the first day of the Local Peace and Security Assembly (LPSA) in Tagum City’s Bulwagan ng Lalawigan on Thursday, while National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales was delivering a speech. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo attended the event the next day. The soldiers managed to go online because the venue had been turned into a wifi hotspot for the event.

http://davaotoday.com/2008/02/08/in-tagum-forum-soldiers-surf-internet-porn-as-gonzales-speaks/

so its not outdated weapons..

..its not the lack of training..

..its not the corruption within the Armed Forces..

..its not because some officers in the AF are busy with politics and their political ambitions, coup plotting, etc..

its because of the boring security adviser! lol

TARPAULINS bearing the images of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Senator Richard Gordon will soon be posted in conspicuous places in the province.

Garcia, however, was quick to clarify that this is not in preparation for the 2010 election but solely for tourism, as the tarpaulin itself says.

The eight giant tarpaulins show sceneries of Cebu such as its beautiful beaches, historical landmarks and even the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).

The words “Wow Philippines” are printed on the topmost part while the faces of Garcia and Gordon are shown at the bottom.

A huge billboard completes the package from Manila.

The materials came from Gordon, said Elizabeth Francia, the governor’s chief of staff.

Francia said Gordon asked them to send pictures of Cebu’s sceneries and a picture of Garcia.

“We were surprised with the outcome,” said Francia.

The governor, for her part, said the tarpaulins will be posted in public places.

“Wa’a man tingali 2010 nga nakabotang diha,” said Garcia.

When asked if she really has no plans to run for a national position in 2010, Garcia answered, “I leave everything to God.”

Tarpaulins of the same nature were earlier posted in Manila, fueling speculations of a Gordon-Garcia tandem.

Prospective candidates for national positions have reportedly been courting Gwen to be a runningmate in the 2010 elections. (KNT)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2008/02/13/news/gwen.gordon.tarpaulins.to.be.placed.in.province.html

the governor thinks she can really fool everyone.. duh!

FOUR public elementary schools in Cebu were counted among the 10 lowest-performing schools in English in the country for school year 2006-2007, based on test results for sixth-graders.

The Department of Education (DepEd) recently directed all its offices and schools to align their priorities with a project that aims to “turn around a low performance in English.”

This, after 1,898 elementary schools and 264 high schools in the country only achieved a mean percentage score (MPS) of 34 percent or below in English in the school year 2006-2007 National Achievement Test (NAT).

The Cebu schools in the bottom 10 list for Grade 6 are Loay Elementary School in Toledo City (27.86 percent MPS); Tangub Elementary School (28.48 percent) and Anislag Elementary School (28.88 percent), both in Pinamungahan; and Lib-og Elementary School in Sogod (28.75 percent).

Rest of the Story

Gwen donated P5 million to Lahug for classroom construction even if shes not obliged to do so just because she and Mary Ann delos Santos has one thing in common-theyre both Tommy’s enemy.. shes not even aware that schools in the province where she is the governor need more of her attention.

Tommy is right. the governor is just a political operator!

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2008/02/07/news/they.call.each.other.names.again.html

we always heard the governor bluffing about the P2 billion peso surplus of the Cebu Provoncial Government and she always criticize the Cebu City goverment for its huge debts.

“madam Gwen, the cash surplus is nothing if you still fail to deliver the basic services to your constituents”

Only few or maybe most of our Sinulog visitors may have known that the night before the Sinulog Grand Parade, a traditional Sinulog happens at the Basilice del Sto. Niño. It is purely a religious event wherein you dance for the Niño at the same time praying. It was in this tradition where the Sinulog Festival can trace its origin.

I have joined the mass after the foot procession for two consecutive years already, the traditional Sinulog happens after the mass. I must say the experience is really touching.