Déjà vu for Manila residents

This is one time when we who live in the provinces should be thankful that we are not in Manila. These past few days, all we hear from the people there are complaints about brownouts and lack of water. Worse, the water shortage also brings with it shortage of electric power because the hydroelectric plants that supply it cannot function if there is no water. The President has reportedly ordered the national agencies involved to "prepare for the worst".

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Aren't we going back in time, to the last days of the administration of President Cory Aquino? That was also when there were long stretches of brownouts that inconvenienced people and caused great losses to manufacturers and industries. In those days, people from the provinces avoided going to Manila if they could help it because of the heat and the inconveniences. There were not as many malls then, and, when it was summer, they were all full of people taking advantage of their airconditioning. I hope Manilans do not have to go through that again.

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Now they're all legal. Republic Act No. 9492 has been signed into law by the President, and this means that almost all our holidays will now be movable, except for Christmas, New Year's Day, All Souls Day, and the peak days of Lent, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, which will be observed as set by the Church, on different days. The changes are part of the "holiday economics" adopted by this administration in the belief that transferring all other holidays to a Monday, will enable workers and students to enjoy long weekends, and give parents more time to be with their children.

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The last continues to be debatable because I know of many parents who do not like the idea at all. Not because they don't want to be with their kids, but because, they say, having them on holiday is more expensive than having them safely in school. When there are no classes, children demand to go to the malls, watch movies, go on outings and picnics, or just "eat out" - all of which mean more shelling out from the family budget. But I am not surprised at the President's penchant for changing or moving holidays. Her own father moved Independence Day when he was president, remember?

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While we are talking holidays, meanwhile, the people of Hungary are considering asking their officials to legitimize the practice of siesta, or early afternoon naps. The practice that originated from Latin America and Spanish colonies, has obviously also infected the Hungarians, who are seeking a referendum to urge their government to declare a legitimate time for them to nap. I can imagine the chagrin of employers, if they also allow coffee breaks. How many hours will be left for actual work then?

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Cebu Province has acted promptly on the candies from China scare, and has passed a resolution directing teachers to guide their students in buying candies and other snack food. Their act was triggered by the recent exposes that showed such items from China contained formaldehyde which is supposed to make them stay fresh longer. However, this could have dangerous effects on the bodies of the people, especially children. I hope the resolution also specifies that the teachers themselves will not start selling candies and cookies to the children to ensure that they don't contain formalin.

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Last night Negros Navigation Co. celebrated its diamond, or 75th anniversary at the L'Fisher Hotel, to which government officials, businessmen, the media and other friends and supporters of the shipping firm were invited. The history of the company from its beginnings in 1932 to the present, with the conflicts and problems in between, were recalled, and some musical numbers were presented. I was gratified to note that the National Anthem was played in the right tempo, although I found the version of the Our Father that they picked to be a bit too somber for a start to the program.

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Indeed, this province and city have much to appreciate Negros Navigation for. In the days when there were no interisland commercial flights, and even after plane travel was introduced, the NN boats were still the most popular choice for Negrenses. Personally I owe NN a lot when I developed a phobia for flying sometime in the 1970s and had to commute between Manila and Bacolod every month. I agree with Mayor Bing when he told the crowd that many people think that Negros Island consists of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Negros Navigation. Congratulations, especially to the founders, and those who kept it afloat all these 75 years!*

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