Gossip kills people

Yesterday lawyer Jose Ma. Valencia , the capitol's legal luminary and aide of Governor Joseph Marañon, came out with a media advisory on the state of health of the governor.

The reason? Yesterday noon, I overheard a group of drivers, purportedly of the Capitol, discussing the demise of Gov. Joseph who, at the time, was confined at the Riverside Medical Center .

That took me aback. I should have been among the first to have the report. Instead, you have one driver, purportedly that of a former provincial board member, telling everybody within earshot at the corner of 6th Street and Lacson about the premature story of Marañon.

Well, that only proves one thing. People tend to speculate on the state of health and death of a person, especially an important official, when there is no formal health advisory.

Also, there is the tendency by some to contend that they are in the “inner circle” who are bound by secrecy to keep under the lid such reports. That is preening their own importance.

Anyway, the Joe Val advisory must put to rest speculations of Marañon's state. And to Joseph, may God bless you with better health.

***

But to a more important matter. On Jan. 19, Bishop Vicente Navarra will formally launch the diamond anniversary of the Bacolod Diocese with the declaration of the San Sebastian Cathedral as the pilgrimage site of the Jubilee.

He will also announce the grant of plenary indulgences to organized religious pilgrimages to the site.

Actually, he is following the tradition of the Church in the opening of the Holy Years in Rome when the Pope opens the door of St. Peter's Basilica for the occasion.

The bishop enters the Cathedral door, a symbolic crossing of the threshold of the jubilee. He will lead the diocese and the faithful into the heart of the Church who is the Lord Jesus Christ and into the next jubilee.

Actually, the jubilee celebration and the Feast of San Sebastian started Friday, Jan. 11, with the mass celebrated by Fr. Humberto Tumbos, vicar forane of Bacolod-South. This was followed by the mass celebrated by Fr. Samson Mariano, vicar forane of Bacolod-North.

Last Sunday, Fr. Felix Pasquin, vicar forane of Bacolod-Central, celebrated Sunday mass.

Monday, it was Fr. Abenir Pineda, vicar forane of the Silay vicariate, who officiated at the mass.

Yesterday, it was the turn of Fr. Gregorio Patiño, of the Hinigaran vicariate.

Today, it will be the turn of Fr. Ireneo Gordoncillo, of the Bago vicariate who will officiate the mass.

The other celebrants are Fr. Angelo Ansula, of the Vicariate of Murcia, while the Jan. 19 mass will be officiated by Msgr. Victorino Rivas, vicar general of the Bacolod Diocese.

The Sunday mass on Jan. 20 will be celebrated by Most Rev. Vicente Navarra, the Bacolod bishop.

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I find the burial of former Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Montelibano Jr. an interesting event. He was buried in Hacienda Binitin just beside the family mausoleum where his father, the late Island Governor Alfredo Montelibano, is interred.

I was not present. Since the interment of my late wife, Dr. Lourdes L. Espina, I have shied away from burials. It's simply because I could not help but feel sympathy and remember the sense of loneliness that grips members of the bereaved families of my deceased friends and relatives.

Anyway, the only thing I can say about it – the surprise was that it took Batanes Bishop Camilo Gregorio to pay the last liturgical rites for Montelibano instead of our own Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra. That set a lot of tongues wagging among the local Catholic laity.

That may have been an oversight. Or due to some other reasons. But one can't fault the local faithful from speculating on that.

***

My mistake. I did not mention that the dip in sugar production was compared to the production for the same period two crop years ago. That may have inadvertently been misconstrued as to mean that there will be a production shortfall in this crop year's output.

As a matter of fact, the Sugar Alliance had already come out against any importation of sugar under the MAV (minimum access volume) because we have more than enough production of service domestic demand.

For that matter, it may have escaped the notice of most that the Sugar Regulatory Administration had come out with the “D” sugar classification, anticipating more than enough production of sugar that we may need to export them to the World market.

Anyway, the story had been clarified in another dispatch.*

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