Opinion

There is an ancient Sufi tale from Iraq or Iran, called “One and a Half Followers”: “Once upon a time, there was a man who became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was the leader of a vast and rich domain, a desert, hard to live in, but full of resources, beauty and strength for those who know how to live there and learn to appreciate it. As soon as he was made sultan he was warned about one man, a caliph (a master teacher, like a rabbi) who, it was said, had thousands of followers. If he turned against the sultan, his followers could overthrow him, and the caliph would become sultan himself. Or if the caliph sided with enemies outside the empire, the sultan wouldn’t have a chance against the combined forces. But the sultan ignored all warnings. The years went by and there were plots to overthrow the government, assassination attempts, coups that failed and always the name of that one caliph was mentioned as being behind them all.

SHE IS A RARE KIND OF BIRD. Justice Secretary Leila De Lima is, indeed, a kind of bird, so to speak, who is after the people’s heart.

Insofar as we are concerned, we consider her the most effective serving official in the Aquino government. We do not wish to guess what her intentions are, serving in the government, but from her actuations, we can analyze that indeed she is after exemplary government service to the people.

(Ang inyo pamangkot nahanungod sa ika-ayong lawas kag masakit pagasabton ni Doc Ramel. I-text ang inyo pamangkot sa 0910-8965336, kag ina pagasabton diri nga bahin.)

Readers can send their questions here on health, diseases and sickness by texting Doc Ramel through cellphone # 0910-8965336.

29. QUESTION: gud pm doc ramel mangkut lng k tni kng anu maaya nga bulong pra sa mga init init sa akun baba. thanks gd!

ANSWER: Gud pm, gamit ka acidophilus, b c0mplex kg b50, 3x a day after meals, tnx.

*28. QUESTION: Gud pm doc anu mg panubo sng creatinin k 4.4 kg naga dako heart -cyrus

ANSWER: Cyrus knahanglan u gd bisita sa clinic ko for free check up,kn gusto u magnubo ang creatinine u, thanks. 27.

It has been bugging me for several months now. The sight of heavily loaded cargo cane trucks passing through the North Negros Highway and the weighing station at the boundary of Bacolod and Talisay cities.
How many had been the overloaded trucks stopped there and asked to unload their cargo get fined?

Don’t tell me that the weighing station has completely failed to do its intended purpose.

So far, despite my repeated attempts to hear interceptions and findings of overloading of heavily loaded cane trucks, I still have to hear one such apprehension.

Unless, of course, the device had been deemed incapable of doing what it had originally been designed to do so.

[ DISCLAIMER: Readers’ opinions posted here do not necessarily reflect the views of NDB and NDBers. Text to 09393-999393. - Arman Toga, moderator.]

4938. ON NET25 & WATER REMINDER. 1. From BACOLOD CITY WATER DISTRICT (BACIWA) - Water Supply Interruption/ Turbid Water today Tuesday, 8:30AM - 12NN in Alangilan, Charito Hts., Capitol Subd., Villa Soledad, Patricia Homes, Jesusa Hts., Villa Villeta, Cityville, Fortune Towne, Camingawan, Capitol Hills, Buena Park, Villa San Agustin, Villa Angela, Lilgonville, Patria Village, Royal Meadows, Helvetia Hts., Greensville 1 2 3, Homesite, areas along Burgos Street. ALSO TODAY 9AM - 4PM at Capitol Village, San Dionisio, Jesusa Hts., Sunshine Valley. ** WATCH THE LIVE TELECAST OF THE CORONA IMPEACHMENT TRIAL and other news coverages on NET25 on cable TV (SkyCable Channel 71).

4937. CROCS FALL. Daw kdamu na gid buwaya nga gakadakpan subong. Ambot ang buwaya sa gobyerno san o madakpan ayhan? Hoy, pataasa man bi sweldo namun, tama na na nga pangawat. 09083516362

4936. PNOY SAY. Ex-Sen. Kit Tatad claimed that Aquino has asked senators not to honor the SC’s TRO. Quoting sources, Tatad said: Some senators, speaking in the strictest confidence, revealed having received a call from [Ochoa] allegedly to transmit an urgent personal request from [Aquino] that they not honor the TRO. 09228562380

The origins of the Babaylanes in Negros, and its best-known leader, Papa Isio (Dionisio Siguela Papa to some writers) are obscure, but some say that the movement came from Panay and was so closely related to the “Pulahan” movement that the words “Babaylanes” and “Pulahanes” were often used interchangeably. Negros Occidental Governor Leandro Locsin described the movement in 1901 as a “confused admixture of socialistic principles, anarchistic instincts and a strange aberration of religious and fanatical notions,” the view shared by most ilustrados and Americans. A close look at Babaylanism would show, however, that it had other dimensions. Though originally a religious-fanatic-superstition cult, it acquired anarchistic, nationalistic, pro-labor and socialistic tendencies during the later Spanish and early American periods.

ORDER HAS NOT YET BEEN ISSUED. There arose a brewing controversy regarding the Small Town Lottery (STL), in which it has been bruited about that it would be totally scrapped in favor of the Loterya ng Bayan. This has elicited a reaction primarily from provincial government executive assistant, Manolet Escalante who said it is not true. But highly-reliable sources have, indeed, stated that it is to be scrapped in favor of Loterya. This has been confirmed by two Philippine Charity Sweepstakes (PCSO) officials who aver that indeed, it will be replaced by the Loterya.

I believe that when everything else disappears, only Love remains. Is it not true that love always wants to be near the one loved and to linger there? The Fourteenth of February opens and re-opens all about love. Surely, the passing of Valentine, re-writes what it’s all about. Love always wants to be near the one loved. Love is never content 0to remain at a distance. What love is, indeed cannot be described nor defined in words, yet full of stories.

Love touches relationships, companionship and even friendship. Love is power. It is all about faithfulness. Is it really true that love is blind? I lovingly submit three stories pregnant with what Love is all about - The Ant in Love, A tale of women in Weinsberg, Germany, and a story titled One and Half Followers.

NOT ONLY THE SC. The ongoing Senate Impeachment Court trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, indicates that there is much to question the actuations of top government officials insofar as how they perform their functions are concerned.

When majority of the Senator-Judges in a vote of 10-13, opted to abide and comply with the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court, it was not an indication of a total obeisance to the “supremacy” of the highest court in the land. It was borne out of respect to the 1987 Constitution, in recognizing the power of the Supreme Court to interpret, enforce and uphold the fundamental law of the land. It is because the courts, ultimately the Supreme Court are the official, (but not necessarily the only,) interpreters of the Constitution. It was also a wise move to avert the so-called “Constitutional Crisis.” Moreover, according to Chancellor James Kent; “Where there is no judicial department to interpret and execute the law, to decide controversies and to enforce rights, the government either perish by its own imbecility, or the other departments of the government must usurp powers for the purpose of commanding obedience, to the destruction of liberty.”