Thursday, October 2, 2008
Children of Rapu-Rapu join "Kampong Bayan"
Children of Rapu-Rapu join ‘Kampong Bayan’
By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondent
LEGAZPI CITY: Will the government listen to the voice of the children who have joined their parents’ crusade to halt the Lafayette mining operation being blamed for toxic spillage and fish kill in Rapu-Rapu, Albay since 2005.
Reymark Balase, a 4-year-old boy of Carogcog village in Rapu-Rapu Albay joined his 44-year-old mother, Marlyn in a weeklong Kampong Bayan (People’s Camp) in front of the Albay Capitol organized by the civic organizations in Bicol.
When asked why he had joined the protest, Raymark told The Manila Times that his father could no longer catch fish after the fish kill, which practically left them to starve.
Raymark stayed inside a tent along with his mother, Marlyn who said she traded five native chickens at P60 per kilo to buy several kilos of rice and have some extra pocket money to spend.
The mother and son trekked the five-kilometer distance from Legazpi City pier on Wednesday on their way to Peñaranda Park after several hours of sea travel to camp-out.
Marlyn’s husband, Renato, opted to stay for awhile in Carogcog village to plant root crops as substitute for staple foods in the future while he could not catch fish for a living because of fear.
Marlyn recalled that after the fish kill they decided to transfer their two sons Angelo, 11, Grade 3, and John Paul, 7, Grade 1, to the Namanday Elementary School to save them from possible effects of chemical contamination.
“We’re living within the mining site and I’m quite afraid because anytime there might be a possible toxic spillage like in 2005. So with chemical contamination not being a remote possibility, we’re afraid for our children’s safety,” she said.
With the multisectoral groups camping out at the provincial capitol, a Dutch national, Pepe Vouz from The Netherlands, joined the protest action against the Australian-owned mining firm.
Pepe, who is married to an Albayana, condemned Lafayette for destroying the environment and marine life of Albay Gulf.
“I’m not an activist but I am sympathizing with the ordeal of the people of Rapu-Rapu. If the toxic spillage and fish kill occurred in Australia automatically Lafayette will be closed down because they’re criminal. Unfortunately, Lafayette is using and taking advantage of poverty situation in the Philippines for their interest and economic gains at the expense of fishermen, farmers and poor people,” Pepe explained.
Although Pepe is tending his own farm in Guinobatan, he promised to visit the Kampong Bayan to show his support to the people of Rapu-Rapu.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Albay was set to conduct a committee hearing on Friday morning as part of a thorough investigation to come up with appropriate action. The hearing was formed by Celso Aytona, committee on environment chairman, to tackle the pressing issues that affect and divided the Albayanos politically.
The Rapu-Rapu mining operation is a pilot project of the recently passed Mining Act of l995 and a pet project of President Gloria Arroyo.
Navy commodore bids command farewell
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
FEATURE
Navy commodore bids command farewell
By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondent
LEGAZPI CITY: As Navy Commodore Alberto Araojo bowed out from Philippine Navy service on Monday, he recalled the sacrifices, the nightmarish and unforgettable ordeals endured by navy servicemen in pursuit of their duties and responsibilities.
Araojo’s recollection and admiration for his brothers-in-arms was made before the presence of navy officers and non-commissioned member of Philippine Navy who attended the change of command held at the Naval Forces of Southern Luzon (NAVFORSOL) in Rawis village.
In his swan song, Araojo expressed his gratitude to several non-governmental organizations that had partnered with the Philippine Navy in reaching out to the poorest of the poor with medical and dental missions held in the remote areas of the six Bicol provinces.
He also announced that he was turning over P5.3 million of unutilized funds to his successor, and underscored that all the equipment, ships and watercraft of the naval command are in ready-for-sea status with highly improved serviceability.
Araojo noted that the naval service was a lot of sacrifices.
“There are more sacrifices and loneliness specially for those assigned on board ships. In my younger days and during the height of the Mindanao conflict, there were months or even years when we could not visit our family even for one day. Our worst nightmare then was guarding the drilling ships in western Palawan and other parts of the China Sea which continues until now,” Araojo continued.
“The only chance for us to see civilization then was when our ships ran out of fuel oil. Such loneliness is even more aggravated when the monsoon season struck creating mountainous waves for several weeks or even months. We could not leave to take shelter from the heavy weather because drilling ships are harassed by Chinese Navy ships every time we leave them unguarded,” Araojo recalled.
“Every time we conducted naval exercises with our neighboring countries, they always congratulate us for our expertise and teamwork. The anti-submarine warfare capabilities of our ships then were relatively at par with that of the US Navy ships.”
Araojo was the Sixth commander of the NAVFORSOL, a native of the island province of Catanduanes and served for 33 years, two months and 22 days.
While Araojo has retired, he still hopes that the armed forces would realize the modernization of the Philippine Navy. His successor Navy Commodore Joel Babas vowed that he would continue to implement the initiatives of Araojo.
FEATURE
Navy commodore bids command farewell
By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondent
LEGAZPI CITY: As Navy Commodore Alberto Araojo bowed out from Philippine Navy service on Monday, he recalled the sacrifices, the nightmarish and unforgettable ordeals endured by navy servicemen in pursuit of their duties and responsibilities.
Araojo’s recollection and admiration for his brothers-in-arms was made before the presence of navy officers and non-commissioned member of Philippine Navy who attended the change of command held at the Naval Forces of Southern Luzon (NAVFORSOL) in Rawis village.
In his swan song, Araojo expressed his gratitude to several non-governmental organizations that had partnered with the Philippine Navy in reaching out to the poorest of the poor with medical and dental missions held in the remote areas of the six Bicol provinces.
He also announced that he was turning over P5.3 million of unutilized funds to his successor, and underscored that all the equipment, ships and watercraft of the naval command are in ready-for-sea status with highly improved serviceability.
Araojo noted that the naval service was a lot of sacrifices.
“There are more sacrifices and loneliness specially for those assigned on board ships. In my younger days and during the height of the Mindanao conflict, there were months or even years when we could not visit our family even for one day. Our worst nightmare then was guarding the drilling ships in western Palawan and other parts of the China Sea which continues until now,” Araojo continued.
“The only chance for us to see civilization then was when our ships ran out of fuel oil. Such loneliness is even more aggravated when the monsoon season struck creating mountainous waves for several weeks or even months. We could not leave to take shelter from the heavy weather because drilling ships are harassed by Chinese Navy ships every time we leave them unguarded,” Araojo recalled.
“Every time we conducted naval exercises with our neighboring countries, they always congratulate us for our expertise and teamwork. The anti-submarine warfare capabilities of our ships then were relatively at par with that of the US Navy ships.”
Araojo was the Sixth commander of the NAVFORSOL, a native of the island province of Catanduanes and served for 33 years, two months and 22 days.
While Araojo has retired, he still hopes that the armed forces would realize the modernization of the Philippine Navy. His successor Navy Commodore Joel Babas vowed that he would continue to implement the initiatives of Araojo.
A Boy who comes back from the dead sees priest
BY RHAYDZ B. BARCIA
The Manila Times Correspondent
BACACAY, Albay - A 10-year-old boy, reported earlier to have come to life 17 hours after doctors pronounced him dead, visited the Bethlehem Pastoral Center in Sogod, a village near his town “for spiritual healing.”
Dante “Jun-Jun” Cardel Jr., according to the report, was pronounced dead by physicians at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila on June 21.
The following day at his wake in the family abode in Puro, Legazpi City, he suddenly woke up and hugged his father and asked for food and water.
After the miraculous incident, his parents and Dr. Al “Zaldy” Abainza, agency director of Children International over Bethlehem Pastoral Center, took the boy to Father Efren “Momoy” Borromeo of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT).
Although Jun-Jun could barely communicate, he related his out-of-this-world experience.
“It was a nightmare at first, then I saw angels singing in a beautiful church,” Jun-Jun recalled.
Another incident he remembered was being told to wake up “by Jesus Christ, who had a beard and long blond hair.” He said when he woke up, in his father's arm, he looked up the sky, where he saw Jesus, but the kindly man was gone.
Father Borromeo, who claimed to have undergone the same experience, said Jun-Jun's case was a miracle that could not be explained.
“It is a manifestation of God's power,” he said. “Let us just pray for Jun-Jun.”
The SOLT community around the world is conducting its fourth General Chapter and International Assembly at Bethlehem Pastoral Center with the theme: “New Evangelization Challenge to Discipleship.”
Father Borromeo is widely known as a faith healer. He claimed to have learned of his extraordinary power while assigned to the Santa Rita Parish in Philamlife Homes, Quezon City.
At the time, he said, an Aruban woman came to him for a healing session. The woman had been diagnosed with cancer and was given only six months to live.
The priest said he forgot all about the woman after that, but then, he added, she came back after a year in the pink of health.
Since his “resurrection,” Jun-Jun has not taken any medication, because the family does not have the money. For this reason, DWZR and DZGB, two local radio stations, are appealing to the public, particularly the well-to-do, for money to buy the medicine prescribed by doctors.
Jun-Jun is a member and sponsor child under Children International, a nongovernment organization providing social services for indigent children in the countryside.
Jun-Jun is the only boy in the family of seven siblings. His sisters are Zhiany Riu, 16; Mairie Isabel, 13; Carey Ann, 7; Ivy Candice, 6; and Danielle Shannen, 3.
The Manila Times Correspondent
BACACAY, Albay - A 10-year-old boy, reported earlier to have come to life 17 hours after doctors pronounced him dead, visited the Bethlehem Pastoral Center in Sogod, a village near his town “for spiritual healing.”
Dante “Jun-Jun” Cardel Jr., according to the report, was pronounced dead by physicians at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila on June 21.
The following day at his wake in the family abode in Puro, Legazpi City, he suddenly woke up and hugged his father and asked for food and water.
After the miraculous incident, his parents and Dr. Al “Zaldy” Abainza, agency director of Children International over Bethlehem Pastoral Center, took the boy to Father Efren “Momoy” Borromeo of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT).
Although Jun-Jun could barely communicate, he related his out-of-this-world experience.
“It was a nightmare at first, then I saw angels singing in a beautiful church,” Jun-Jun recalled.
Another incident he remembered was being told to wake up “by Jesus Christ, who had a beard and long blond hair.” He said when he woke up, in his father's arm, he looked up the sky, where he saw Jesus, but the kindly man was gone.
Father Borromeo, who claimed to have undergone the same experience, said Jun-Jun's case was a miracle that could not be explained.
“It is a manifestation of God's power,” he said. “Let us just pray for Jun-Jun.”
The SOLT community around the world is conducting its fourth General Chapter and International Assembly at Bethlehem Pastoral Center with the theme: “New Evangelization Challenge to Discipleship.”
Father Borromeo is widely known as a faith healer. He claimed to have learned of his extraordinary power while assigned to the Santa Rita Parish in Philamlife Homes, Quezon City.
At the time, he said, an Aruban woman came to him for a healing session. The woman had been diagnosed with cancer and was given only six months to live.
The priest said he forgot all about the woman after that, but then, he added, she came back after a year in the pink of health.
Since his “resurrection,” Jun-Jun has not taken any medication, because the family does not have the money. For this reason, DWZR and DZGB, two local radio stations, are appealing to the public, particularly the well-to-do, for money to buy the medicine prescribed by doctors.
Jun-Jun is a member and sponsor child under Children International, a nongovernment organization providing social services for indigent children in the countryside.
Jun-Jun is the only boy in the family of seven siblings. His sisters are Zhiany Riu, 16; Mairie Isabel, 13; Carey Ann, 7; Ivy Candice, 6; and Danielle Shannen, 3.
Dead for 17 hours, Bicol boy lives again
Dead for 17 hours, Bicol boy lives again
By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondent
Legazpi City: To the village of Puro, the big news is not the impending eruption of Mayon Volcano. It is the “resurrection” of 10-year-old Dante “Jun-Jun” Cardel Jr.
Jun-jun was declared dead by doctors at the Philippine General Hospital on June 21. He came back to life after 17 hours, in the middle of his wake.
One day in early June, Jun-Jun began to vomit blood. His parents took him to Tanchuling Hospital in Legazpi. When his condition didn’t improve, they brought him to the PGH in Manila.
Doctors at PGH said there was a tumor in the boy’s head that was in a dangerous stage of growth.There was little they could do to save him.
On June 21 doctors removed Jun-Jun’s life-support system and declared him dead about 4 p.m.Dante Cardel, 36, and wife, Sheila, 34, took the body home in a service car provided by the Child Sponsorship for Community Development Inc. (CSCDI), a nongovernmental organization helping poor families in Albay.
“In the van I held my boy’s body in my arms. My husband took over as we were passing through Laguna.” In Naga City, Dante told Sheila he felt Jun-Jun chest was getting warm but he thought nothing more of it.
The van arrived in Puro about 5 a.m. of June 22. The whole neighborhood turned up for Jun-jun’s sad homecoming.
“It was a painful moment for both of us. I saw the black pants and white T-shirt that hung on the wall—my son’s burial clothes—which the CSCDI had bought for him.” Tents had been set up at the yard for the wake.
Everyone pitched in, arranging tables and chairs, preparing food. At 8 a.m. Jun-Jun suddenly opened his eyes, hugged his father tight and asked for food.
He was alive. “We cheered and thanked God for bringing my son back to life,” Sheila said. No one could explain what had happened.
The parish priest, Fr. Jose Bañares, said Jun-Jun might still have a mission on earth and advised the family to keep praying and believing in God’s grace and power.
Jun-Jun told The Manila Times he woke up from his long sleep because he was told by Jesus Christ to rise from his father’s arms. “I was in my father’s arms when I saw Jesus Christ with a beard and long blond hair. He told me to wake up. There were two birds beside him, one black and the other white, flying around jackfruit trees. Jesus looked at me and touched my eyes. When I woke up I looked up at the sky, but I didn’t see him again,” Jun-Jun told The Times.
Jun Jun, who finished Grade 4, is the fourth child and the only boy in the family of seven siblings.
“I wanted to become an engineer. Next year I will back to school at Puro Elementary School,” he said.Fr. Lorenzo de Leon, parochial vicar of Saint Raphael parish here, said the family’s strong belief in God, not a miracle, could have brought Jun-Jun back from the dead.”
“We cannot really say that there was a miracle, but it could be a divine intervention because of their strong belief in God,” Father de Leon said. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...60719top8.html
By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondent
Legazpi City: To the village of Puro, the big news is not the impending eruption of Mayon Volcano. It is the “resurrection” of 10-year-old Dante “Jun-Jun” Cardel Jr.
Jun-jun was declared dead by doctors at the Philippine General Hospital on June 21. He came back to life after 17 hours, in the middle of his wake.
One day in early June, Jun-Jun began to vomit blood. His parents took him to Tanchuling Hospital in Legazpi. When his condition didn’t improve, they brought him to the PGH in Manila.
Doctors at PGH said there was a tumor in the boy’s head that was in a dangerous stage of growth.There was little they could do to save him.
On June 21 doctors removed Jun-Jun’s life-support system and declared him dead about 4 p.m.Dante Cardel, 36, and wife, Sheila, 34, took the body home in a service car provided by the Child Sponsorship for Community Development Inc. (CSCDI), a nongovernmental organization helping poor families in Albay.
“In the van I held my boy’s body in my arms. My husband took over as we were passing through Laguna.” In Naga City, Dante told Sheila he felt Jun-Jun chest was getting warm but he thought nothing more of it.
The van arrived in Puro about 5 a.m. of June 22. The whole neighborhood turned up for Jun-jun’s sad homecoming.
“It was a painful moment for both of us. I saw the black pants and white T-shirt that hung on the wall—my son’s burial clothes—which the CSCDI had bought for him.” Tents had been set up at the yard for the wake.
Everyone pitched in, arranging tables and chairs, preparing food. At 8 a.m. Jun-Jun suddenly opened his eyes, hugged his father tight and asked for food.
He was alive. “We cheered and thanked God for bringing my son back to life,” Sheila said. No one could explain what had happened.
The parish priest, Fr. Jose Bañares, said Jun-Jun might still have a mission on earth and advised the family to keep praying and believing in God’s grace and power.
Jun-Jun told The Manila Times he woke up from his long sleep because he was told by Jesus Christ to rise from his father’s arms. “I was in my father’s arms when I saw Jesus Christ with a beard and long blond hair. He told me to wake up. There were two birds beside him, one black and the other white, flying around jackfruit trees. Jesus looked at me and touched my eyes. When I woke up I looked up at the sky, but I didn’t see him again,” Jun-Jun told The Times.
Jun Jun, who finished Grade 4, is the fourth child and the only boy in the family of seven siblings.
“I wanted to become an engineer. Next year I will back to school at Puro Elementary School,” he said.Fr. Lorenzo de Leon, parochial vicar of Saint Raphael parish here, said the family’s strong belief in God, not a miracle, could have brought Jun-Jun back from the dead.”
“We cannot really say that there was a miracle, but it could be a divine intervention because of their strong belief in God,” Father de Leon said. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...60719top8.html
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