A split commemoration
of Evelio Javier

Antiqueños held two separate affairs to commemorate the celebration of the 20th death anniversary of former Gov. Evelio Javier who was killed shortly before EDSA I by bloodthirsty gunmen. The incident happened in a small store's comfort room in front of the plaza.

The main celebration was the one implemented by the Antique Historical Council, headed by SP majority leader and chair Bernardo Zoilo Tubaniosa.

Congressman Exequiel Javier, however, had his own commemoration. This started at the EBJ Freedom Park, fronting the provincial capitol, and ended up at the Catholic Cemetery in Funda-Dalipe where Javier is buried.

An ugly scene was the alleged loud blaring of the "Impossible Dream", Evelio's favorite song while Manila Mayor Lito Atienza was paying his tribute to the national hero at the Capitol.

Javier claimed that Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez did not consult with the Javier family about the celebration.

Sally, however, pointed out that an emissary was sent to the Antique solon, inviting him to join the plans for the provincial government for the celebration.

"But he did not participate. He should have sent Efren Esclavilla. As early as December, the Antique Historical Council already met about this," was the clarification of Gov. Perez.

One thing sure, though, Evelio has attained the status of a national hero. For that matter, in Manila, they already have a statue dedicated to Evelio.

Antique had invited Mayor Atienza to the affair because he and Javier were very close friends and allies in the crusade against the Marcos administration. And, just in case you are an Antiqueño, the National Commission on Arts and Culture funded Paranubli-on to produce a musical, "The Life and Times of Evelio Javier" in Kinaray-a. This will be shown at the EBJ Freedom Park on Feb. 25, the anniversary of EDSA I.

And, just for the information of the Graciano Lopez Jaena Clan of Negros, Mayor Atienza had pledged to put up a statue of the Ilonggo national hero in Manila. He agreed with Gov. Perez that the Ilonggo national hero appeared to have been forgotten by many in the National Capital Region.

There were reports that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had also pledged to support the project for the establishment of a Graciano Lopez Jaena Shrine and Museum in Jaro, Iloilo.

Well, hopefully that could be implemented soon. Mrs. Perez promised me that she would follow this up since her late father, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Calixto Zaldivar was a close friend of Lopez Jaena. "I still remember the many stories he told us about Lopez Jaena," Gov. Zaldivar-Perez told me over the phone.

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West Negros College nursing graduates suddenly found an ally in Capiz Congressman Fredenil Castro who demanded for a House probe into the actuations of the Professional Regulation Commission regional director Lily Ann Baldago for withholding the examination results of some 450 WNC nursing examinees.

In his fiery speech, Castro accused Baldago who, "in a snap of her thought, can easily encroach upon the power and authority of the Commission on Higher Education and render the latter useless and inutile."

Castro pointed out that CHED is the sole agency authorized and empowered to regulate all matters relative to the curricula of college or schools operating collegiate courses.

He dubbed the withholding of the test results of some 567 WNC nursing graduates as "unlawful, whimsical and capricious."

Baldago reportedly recommended to the Board of Nursing to withhold the results citing academic overloading as the reason.

The solon, however, pointed out that CHED had given special orders for the WNC nursing graduates to take the December 3 to 4 exams last year.

Because of her "wild and wide imagination," Castro stressed, "Baldago destroyed the lives of the pitiful students of the WNC."

He blasted the PRC and the CHED for keeping the examinees in limbo and not doing anything to settle the issue speedily.

He also wondered why CHED kept mum and just bowed to the whims and caprices of Baldago.

Castro pointed out "that until now the nursing graduates remain clueless as to their future and their family lives suspended and continue to hang over the air of uncertainty."

That's only the opening salvo. Rep. Monico Puentevella of Bacolod is reportedly poised to take up the cudgels for the frustrated WNC nursing graduates. That is something worth watching.

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Former Senator John Osmeña had a point - the mysterious twists in the service of a search warrant issued by the Cebu Regional Trial court to Korean businessman Ha Hae Bong, at the Pamplona Plantation last Feb. 4, was served by an NBI team from Bacolod, instead of the NBI team from either Dumaguete City or Cebu City.

As I had pointed out earlier, there are a lot of unanswered questions about Korean Pastor Kim Seong Kook who asked the Bacolod NBI office to serve that search warrant.

In short, the issue of jurisdiction comes into play. So, the local NBI office will have to shed light into why they handled the case instead of the NBI units which had jurisdiction over it.

That may have cause their manhandling by the Negros Oriental police. And the former senator is right. This is something that must be investigated.*

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