It's St. Sebastian's Day

Today is the feast of St. Sebastian, patron saint of Bacolod City, after whom the cathedral of the Diocese is named. Devotees of the well-loved icon of the Catholic church will flock to the cathedral today for the solemn mass and ceremonies to honor him. It has been said that, in fact, the place now called Bacolod used to also be named after him, but one thing we are sure of is that one of the oldest streets in the city is named San Sebastian.

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What is also known about St. Sebastian is that he came from a noble family and later became an officer in the emperor's army. He was a favorite of the emperor until it was discovered that he was a Christian. Because he would not renounce his faith, he was ordered to be executed by a very cruel method. That is why the statues of him show a man tied to a tree trunk, barely covered, and stuck with arrows. His body was thrown into a pit, but his executioners did not know that he was still alive.

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A holy woman living in the vicinity had a mysterious summons to come to his aid, and she nursed him back to health, after which he presented himself to a shocked emperor. It did not take long, however, before he was ordered killed again, and this time his murderers succeeded. Since then, he has become the patron saint of soldiers and policemen. If only the men who staged the siege on the Iloilo Provincial Capitol were devotees of St. Sebastian, he might have wrought a miracle and stopped them from their acts that may now lead to their prosecution and punishment.

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As for the despicable incident in Iloilo that had drawn condemnation from almost everyone, except those who ordered and supported it, it has again left a black mark on our country that has not even erased yet those given us by the continuous political killings whose numbers are rising everyday. And yet, one cannot help being appalled by the reaction of such officials as Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, who have shocked Pinoys everywhere by lauding the action of the RMG troops, and even commending them! Good heavens. Shall we hear about a distribution of medals to the wreckers yet?

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No wonder the chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights has described the incident as something that could be happening in Iraq, and a clear violation of the rights of some people. That drew the ire of the DOJ secretary who said she is pre-judging the issue before an investigation has been made. But how can anybody not make a conclusion after seeing those graphic, vivid and damning footages on television? And no one can say that the footages had been doctored, because they were shown immediately after the siege took place. No one could have time to splice them yet.

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Not as high-profile as the dismissal of Iloilo's Gov. Niel Tupas and the suspension of Batangas Gov. Armand Sanchez, was the conviction also of former Antique Gov. Jovito Plameras, this time by the SandiganBayan. Investigators reported that the Plameras case involved the purchase of school furniture worth P5.67 million, which was allegedly paid without authorization from the school board, was bought without public bidding, and paid before delivery. What was worse was that the chairs delivered were lacking and most of them were defective and could not be used. But all this happened nine years ago - and where is Plameras now? Seems there was no hurry to act on his case. Why?

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Manny Pacquiao squelched rumors that he was going into politics while he was at the Comelec office yesterday and warmed the hearts of the commissioners, led by chairman Benjamin Abalos, by calling for more faith in that office. It was announced that Pacquiao was only visiting his old friend, Abalos, who had helped him in his struggling days. But later it was disclosed that he was there to seek for exemption from the gun ban for his men. I don't know if he wanted one for himself, anyway his fists are deadly already. Seems the Pacman is spreading himself out very well these days. He was also on Kris Aquino's Deal or No Deal edition yesterday. I guess he wants to play for a while before starting to train seriously for his next bout. Must believe in the saying "All work and no play…"

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By the way, today is also the anniversary of the day then Vice President Gloria Arroyo and company ousted President Joseph Estrada from Malacañang, and was later proclaimed and sworn in by then Chief Justice Hilario Davide, whom she also swore in as her new representative to the United Nations very recently.*

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