Editorial

Super Typhoon Yolanda, which flattened large swathes of Eastern Visayas in 2013, was a Category 5 cyclone. A Category 4 cyclone, however, is powerful enough, and Mawar could still pick up strength as it moved toward the Philippines. Weather experts have issued sufficient alerts and tracked the likely path of the typhoon, so the places expected to be hardest hit are known. Local government units, working with the national government, must be fully prepared for the cyclone.

Residents in coastal communities must be readied for evacuation to sites with decent accommodations, with adequate health and sanitation facilities.

Those in charge of the evacuation centers must remember that COVID-19 is still around, with highly transmissible coronavirus subvariants posing a threat particularly to the vulnerable elderly and the immunocompromised. The Arcturus strain of COVID is also known to infect even young children.

With the typhoon approaching, some local governments have urged their farmers to harvest crops even if the timing is slightly premature. Rescue teams and equipment are being readied, while houses and other structures made of light materials are being lashed to the ground. Light fishing boats are being secured inland.

Mawar is the first super typhoon to enter the country this year, and the second cyclone after Tropical Depression Amang struck the Bicol region in April. Climate change has fueled extreme and unpredictable weather disturbances, explain the startling political developments last week: and we have seen the images of Mawar wreaking havoc in Guam. This powerful cyclone is barreling toward the Philippines. There is no excuse for being unprepared. (Philstar.com)

• The only majoritarian President since Marcos Sr.

12 years political powerplay.”

THAT is how Filipinos should look at the presidency of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr., aka BBM. As president, BBM should serve from noon of June 30, 2022 to noon of June 30, 2028, exactly six years.

But then, this is a President who won with an unprecedented mandate, the largest electoral win ever for a president since Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr.’s historic victory in 1969. With 31.629 million votes, BBM has the largest number of votes ever by any president.

BBM chalked up this record (according to a tally made by Albay Second District Congressman Joey Salceda):

• He won all regions, except Regions V (Bicol, home region of opposition presidential candidate Leni Robredo) and VI (Western Visayas).

• Largest vote share (59 percent) since Marcos Sr.’s reelection in 1969 (61 percent).

• Largest margin (32 percent) since Magsaysay (37 percent).

The BBM mandate indicates two things: One, for the first time in more than half a century (53 years), the nation is united behind a single leader and two, his awesome mandate means the people believed in BBM’s promise of sweeping changes, for deep economic and social transformation.

Among those changes: Lick poverty for good (to less than 5 percent of the population from the present more than 26 percent); unify the nation and end divisive and debilitating politics; make Filipinos upper middle income; double infra spending to P9 trillion in six years from P4.5 trillion under Duterte and thus modernize the economy; make the Philippines march in cadence with the world’s most dynamic economies and vibrant democracies.

Such reforms cannot be achieved in six short years. Hence, the need for BBM to groom his successor, this early. That successor is, of course, a relative.

We now must view then the Marcos Jr. presidency from the prism of 12 years, if not longer.

That is the only way to

• The demotion or ouster of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the sole Senior Deputy Speaker of the 314-member House of Representatives. The vote was taken 7:40 p.m. of May 17, 2023, with less than 20 congressmen physically present, and the principal protagonists were physically absent – Arroyo herself, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and the new Senior Deputy Speaker, Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. GMA’s ouster from a largely ceremonial position was a coup attributed to Speaker Martin, who was silent like a Sphinx for four solid days before making a statement that surely incriminated him (he talked about nipping a coup in the bud).

• The resignation two days later, May 19, of Vice President Sara Duterte as chair of the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democratic Party which launched her VP candidacy in May 2022.

It was a noisy resignation. Her leadership as VP, she said in effect, “cannot be poisoned by political toxicity or undermined by execrable

Up in smoke

original neoclassical architecture designed by Tomas Mapua and Juan Arellano preserved, as it was rebuilt from the destruction in the World War II Battle of Manila.

Toxic means poison. Execrable means carabao dung. You don’t describe the politics of a ruling party in those disgraceful terms.

As if using toxic and execrable were not enough, Sara posted on Instagram, “Sa imong ambisyon, do not be tambaloslos” (“For your ambition, do not be like tambaloslos”).

According to usually unreliable Visayan and Bicolano folklore, tambaluslus is a wrinkled, dark colored, hairy creature with long, thin and wobbly legs, hooves and big joints, long arms and fingers, the mane of a horse from head to toe, a wide mouth, large vicious teeth, a penis as long as its height and large testicles with the diameter of an umbrella. It misleads people in the forest and rapes humans and animals. Despite its huge penis and balls, the monster is largely powerless.

People speculated that Sara’s tambaloslos refers to Speaker Martin.

Martin, who was named after BBM’s father (FM, as in Ferdinand Martin), is infinitely a much more charismatic, likable and powerful person than the largest of the tambaloslos species.

Martin comes from a distinguished family of statesmen, jurists and politicians that predates the rise to power of then Ilocos Norte congressman Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. The Romualdezes come from a “holy” family. Their ancestors were Spanish priests and nuns on both sides. They are no strangers to power and powerplays. Their playground was the highest echelons of politics and society. Their terrain is Manila and Leyte. And yes, they know how to handle revolts and coups.

After People Power of 1986, the now legendary Romualdez wealth was practically intact, untouched by sequestration, politics and powerplays.

Before FM’s Imelda, the most famous of the Romualdezes was Daniel Zialcita Romualdez. He was speaker from 1957 to 1962. Imelda is a cousin of Daniel.

According to Wikipedia, Daniel Romualdez’s father was Don Miguel Lopez Romualdez, assemblyman for Leyte and mayor of Manila during World War II. His mother was Brigida Zialcita of Manila.

Daniel Romualdez’s father was the second of the three sons of Trinidad “Tidad” Lopez, eldest daughter of Spanish friar Don Francisco Lopez of Granada, Spain (later of Burauen, Leyte), and Daniel Romuáldez of Pandacan, Manila, a tuberculosis survivor and cabeza de barangay. His paternal grandfather Daniel was owner of the Malacañang Gardens, the huge expanse of land dedicated to entertaining guests of Philippine presidents. Supreme Court Associate Justice Norberto Romualdez was Daniel’s uncle. Another uncle, Dean Vicente Orestes Romuáldez y Lopez, was the father of Imelda Marcos and grandfather of the current Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez. Romualdez’s great-grandfather was involved in the Sumuroy Revolt but narrowly escaped Spanish execution when he was allowed by David Dulay to visit his ailing mother. (Philstar.com)

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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

* * * Email: biznewsasia@gmail.com

THE TikTok generation will probably ask: what’s a stamp?

That will be the reaction to the loss of the priceless collection of antique and rare commemorative stamps that went up in smoke, literally, in the fire that razed the Manila Central Post Office from late Saturday night until Sunday morning.

The TikTok generation might care about the destruction of the National ID cards that were being readied for snail mail distribution. Those expecting official documents, registered mail and parcels, which must still be sent by traditional postal service, might also be worried.

As for those rare stamps, the Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) has said these weren’t just the collection of the Central Post Office but the entire national stamp collection. That was part of our heritage that got torched in that inferno.

The building itself is a national heritage. Since its concrete shell survived the fire, it can and must be rebuilt, with the

Reconstruction, unfortunately, is going to be costly and will take time. And it’s unlikely to be given funding priority by the administration, which is warning of fiscal collapse from unsustainable military and uniformed personnel pensions (although funding for foreign junkets is bottomless). The country is already buried in P13.86 trillion debt as of endMarch, over P1 trillion of which was incurred in the first nine months alone of Marcos 2.0.

* * * For the steep fire toll, there must be a serious effort to determine if negligence played a role in the conflagration. With the dramatic drop in the use of snail mail, was there also a weakening of official interest in protecting what’s housed in the Central Post Office?

Some quarters harbored more sinister suspicions, that the fire was deliberately set off and allowed to get out of control so the site, with its prime location, can be sold by the government for mixed-use commercial development.

Manila Mayor Honey LacunaPangan has reassured the public that this isn’t going to happen to the site, which the National Museum had declared in 2018 as an “important cultural property” and by the National Historical Institute as a heritage zone.

The National Museum’s designation entitled the postal building to state funding for its protection, conservation and restoration. Where did the funding go?

The ugly speculations persist, because of details emerging that indicate failure to comply with fire safety standards in a structure that serves as a repository for highly combustible materials.

Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel have said the building lacked water sprinklers – a basic requirement for all commercial establishments, so it must also be a requirement in government offices.

There was no fire alarm system, the BFP said. Were there night guards on duty? They must have been asleep in the pancitan when the fire roared across the basement where the mail and parcels were stored.

By the time the fire trucks began arriving – and that area teems with fire stations from neighboring districts – the fire was already raging. It quickly spread all the way to the fifth floor.

BFP personnel explained that the enclosed space trapped the heat and fanned the fire. The intense heat caused even the powerful bursts of water from the fire hoses to swiftly evaporate, and the fire trucks quickly ran out of their loads of water. The BFP said several trucks had to get water from the Pasig River and even the water fountains in Liwasang Bonifacio. It took 30 hours to declare the fire completely out.

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In other countries, places that hold important documents and precious artifacts are environment-controlled for temperature and light. This is the reason why flash photography is prohibited in exhibits of priceless artwork and antiquities.

After reconstruction, the government might want to turn over the postal building to the National Museum instead of PHLPost, which doesn’t deserve to be entrusted with heritage property. Museum personnel are expected to understand the importance of providing the appropriate environment for different types of objects.

At the same time, there must be a serious effort to identify old structures in Manila that deserve to be preserved or restored.

In many countries that I have visited, there are “old towns” or old quarters that have been preserved, and they are almost always top tourist draws. Old houses have been converted into lovely boutique hotels, quaint shops and restaurants that usually feature local fare. Property values in such enclaves are typically among the highest in the country. China is dotted with such enchanting old villages. Even tiny Singapore, with hardly any land to spare, has preserved its colonial era shophouses amid its concrete jungle.

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In Manila, sadly, it has been a struggle to preserve anything even within Intramuros. The city is a microcosm of the unplanned, anything goes, kanya-kanya mindset that has characterized development all over the country.

Compare Intramuros with the walled enclave in the Old Town of Cartagena in Colombia, and the way that old haunt of novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez has been developed into a tourist destination, and you will be green with envy.

The Central Post Office, an imposing landmark that’s featured in postcards of Manila, could have served as a focal point for an Old Manila development that can include Binondo, portions of Sta. Cruz, Quiapo and San Miguel districts. (TikTok generation: what’s a postcard?) But it’s too late now for this.

Considering the cost of reconstruction, which the Government Service Insurance System says it can bankroll (if its assets aren’t forcibly included in the Maharlika fund), there are proposals to just turn over the postal building to the private sector – with the non-negotiable provision that its basic structure cannot be altered.

Proponents say the building can be converted into a neoclassical hotel, as Singapore has done with some of its colonial era government buildings, or a music hall. Similar proposals have been made to save and restore the old train station in Paco, Manila, whose concrete columns and platform remain intact.

The postal office inferno at least has ignited conversation on the need to protect heritage structures. Perhaps a preservation mindset can rise from the ashes of this disaster. (Phistar.com)

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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.