Shooting Straight From the Sky

SHOOTING STRAIGHT FROM THE SKY Valeriano "Bobit" Segura Avila

”As a journalist I had to look for an achor, where do I anchor my belief? Because I learned something about being a journalist, suddenly you’re an idiot. You don’t know anything."

-Valeriano "Bobit" Segura Avila

CONTENTS foreword

POLITICAL ARTICLES Our Catholic Church Leaders in Crisis Make the Centennial more meaningful!

Safety and value to the Filipino life Lechon on Good Friday? Only in Bantayan!

Cebu’s role in EDSA: How could Cory forget?

Pit Senyor from Cebu!

Our New Year resolution: reinventing the government A Visit to the Historic Rock Meeting Pinoys in the United States Is there such a thing as an ethnic vote?

Motorcycling comes of age in the Philippines Will Lito Osmeña be anointed by FVR? Legacy of EDSA: puppetable presidents?

Reinventing the judiciary Federalism: A quixotic quest Cebu: coping with its new int’l status My Lenten Reflection Cebu celebrates 18th Press Freedom Week The importance of VFA for us Filipinos An interview with Taiwan's VP on the pandemic We need to change our Charter soon Time to shift to a parliamentary gov't A Happy New Year to our valued readers We need to prepare for the new normal Support MSMEs and buy local Cebu City world's longest locked down city Would the legislature accept a 50% pay cut?

The dilemma DepEd is facing today Entice Companies leaving China to move here Corruption is corruption, be it in DPWH or BIR The clean-up of Manila Bay: A year after

RELIGIOUS ARTICLES Merry Christmas to our faithful readers A historic meeting for Christian Unity 100th year of the Fatima apparitions A reflection of All Saints and All Souls day My Maundy Thursday reflection Cebu Archdiocese suspends holy masses The Fatima apparitions still unfulfilled Birth of the Virgin Mary is not in the Bible The troubled world needs Fatima today What Christmas should mean for you and me!

100 years ago: The miracle of the dancing sun Correcting impressions about the Church Man's law vs the law of God. God wins Catholicism under siege here, abroad Cebu archdiocese partners with PLDT-Smart

LIFESTYLE ARTICLES Remember the secret of Fatima? Here it is!

Nagasaki’s Historic Christian Past Covering the Canonization of San Pedro Calungsod Passing through the Hong Kong-Macao bridge The 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing

TRIBUTES Biography Tributes Made by the Family of Valeriano "Bobit" Segura Avila Edited by Kirsten Erica Avila Tequillo

Foreword

by Atty. Jennoh H. Tequillo

“No one can be a man until his father had died?” Jordan Peterson attributes this aphorism to Sigmund Freud and it rings true in these days, a year after Dad Valeriano “Bobit” Avila’s death. For decades, he spoke and wrote nonstop like he’s running out of time. His legacy is no other than to shoot straight and to do it straight from the sky, like a lethal bullet from an unexpected place. His metaphors flow from his love of firearms and they offer a shorthand to his stockpile of books on war, conflict, and history, which have now found their temporary sanctuary in the shelves of our law office, a library for the history and permutations of human conflict, meant to console those enveloped by the darkness of disagreement or those caught by the throes of war.

He must have written for more than three decades and this compilation is not made to give justice to his life as a journalist, but to let part of his voice reverberate into time and maybe even into timelessness, into the minds of the people who hold the memory of his friendship close to their hearts. He stood for freedom of speech and at the risk of earning the ire of the country’s richest and most powerful leaders and citizens, he lent his voice to be the voice of dissent. He thus helped to make our democracy work. He now left us not only with a legacy but also a challenge. In the uncertain times that await us as a country and as a democracy, how may we shoot straight and from the sky in order to preserve our most cherished values as a people?

I POLITICAL ARTICLES

Our Catholic Church Leaders in Crisis

Make the Centennial more meaningful!

Safety and value to the Filipino life

Lechon on Good Friday?

Only in Bantayan!

Cebu’s role in EDSA: How could Cory forget?

Pit Senyor from Cebu!

Our New Year resolution: reinventing the government

A Visit to the Historic Rock

Meeting Pinoys in the United States

Is there such a thing as an ethnic vote?

Motorcycling comes of age in the Philippines

Will Lito Osmeña be anointed by FVR?

Legacy of EDSA: puppetable presidents?

Reinventing the judiciary

Federalism: A quixotic quest

Cebu: coping with its new int’l status

My Lenten Reflection

Cebu celebrates 18th Press Freedom Week

The importance of VFA for us Filipinos

An interview with Taiwan's VP on the pandemic

Why we need to change our Charter soon

Time to shift to a parliamentary gov't

A Happy New Year to all our valued readers

We need to prepare for the new normal

Support MSMEs and buy local

Cebu City world's longest locked down city

Would the legislature accept a 50% pay cut?

The dilemma DepEd is facing today

Entice Companies leaving China to move here

Corruption is corruption, be it in DPWH or BIR

The clean-up of Manila Bay: A year after

II RELIGIOUS ARTICLES

Merry Christmas to our faithful readers

A historic meeting for Christian Unity

100th year of the Fatima apparitions

A reflection of All Saints and All Souls Day

My Maundy Thursday reflection

Cebu Archdiocese suspends holy masses

The Fatima apparitions still unfulfilled

Birth of the Virgin Mary is not in the Bible

The troubled world needs Fatima today

What Christmas should mean for you and me!

100 years ago: The miracle of the dancing sun

Correcting impressions about the Church

Man's law vs the law of God. God wins

Catholicism under siege here, abroad

Cebu archdiocese partners with PLDT-Smart

III LIFESTYLE ARTICLES

Remember the secret of Fatima? Here it is!

Nagasaki’s Historic Christian Past

Covering the Canonization of San Pedro Calungsod

Covering the Canonization of San Pedro Calungsod

Covering the Canonization of San Pedro Calungsod

Passing through the Hong Kong-Macao bridge

The 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing

IIII TRIBUTES

Biography

by Miguel Enrico Avila Tequillo

Born on May 24, 1951, Bobit Avila lived a fruitful seventy-one years on this Earth. He was born into a family of 5, and as the third child born, he was the middle child. At a young age, he started to show his love for historical artifacts, as he would go around his neighborhood playing in tanks. As he grew older, he started to use his love for history to study both Philippine and international history more deeply. He then started to take interest in different activities, as he started to take up the different hobbies of shooting in ranges, golfing, flying airplanes, writing, and hosting shows on tv.

From being a contributor to both the Freeman and the Philippine Star, to hosting Straight from the Sky on tv for over twenty-one years, Bobit Avila made his mark on the media world. In addition to this, his writing skills from the media extended to him helping to author a book called the “War in Cebu” that highlighted some events of World War II in Cebu.

Apart from his achievements and contributions to Philippine society, Bobit was also a family man. He was the husband to Jessica Avila, a father to two daughters and one son, and a grandfather to two grandsons and three granddaughters. In spite of his busy schedule, he would always find time to spend with his family to meals, gatherings, Sunday Masses, and vacations abroad.

Tributes