Wednesday, July 22, 2015
2. Why not Mar Roxas?
He's beyond good and evil. He's the Nietzsche guy. The man with the will to power. If this were your high school elections, he's the man always hovering around the teacher, carrying the teacher's books, bringing him coffee, mopping the floor, and dusting off the blackboard. He annoys you for being there all the time. You know he wants to be president so bad that he agreed to run for vice president. You have the feeling that he always had the tough job. A plane crashed and he's there. A freak explosion, robbers breaking in a jewelry shop with hammers, a typhoon devastation, sometimes just bad traffic -- he was there. He'd do anything for your vote in 2016. He even got the goods on Binay and probably everyone else running against him. Man, he's ready and you know he wants it. All these years that he's been working as an errand boy of the Republic are now due for payback. So why not Mar? He's the Nietzsche guy.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
1. One Paragraph A Day
Facebook did it. Twitter was a conspirator. They shrunk my brain. I used to write kilometric posts. Yet, for the past years, I've been confined to one-liners, two-liners at the most. My thoughts had to fit 140 characters, spaces and all. Then I had a dalliance with Sunday night AM radio, which produced 200 podcasts. Bayan at Batas, we called it, a show in bloodied Taglish that had me chatting on a wide range of stuff from Tasadays to world history. My Kindle books have piled up from all that reading. Then, I decided enough is enough. I'm taking a sabbatical from the broadcasts and the podcasts. I'm taking silence as a sport. I'm thinking, reflecting, calibrating the next move of this 21st century life. So today, I remember my late mentor, NVM Gonzalez, and his words about writing -- let them out into the wild, and they will find their own friends. A blog post from 2006 was discovered by a filmmaker and he said he's doing a film on it, with it (?) or inspired by it (?). Whatever it was that he said he was doing about it, it has lit up my passion for this blog again. Indeed, this blog continues to find friends long after I've left it. Here, where my web writing adventures begun. Here, where I made enemies and friends. Here. I'm going back here. One paragraph a day. At least one paragraph a day.Yeah.
More from my wordpress blog, which I've sort of abandoned.
More from my wordpress blog, which I've sort of abandoned.
Saturday, May 03, 2014
Landing in Calaguas
Upon setting foot in Calaguas, I blurted that I feel like Magellan landing in Limasawa Island. This is the real deal. Pristine waters, dramatic rock formations, beautiful landscapes. There is so much to discover in this place. Just to memorize the islands and the islets scattered around it will take hours even days.
The trip from Vinsons to Calaguas though is quite a challenge. We left port in Vinsons at around 8:00 am and went through the southern canal towards the Pacific.
This is a pleasant ride. The wave measurement website said the waves would be at 1.2 meters on the trip, I wondered what it meant.
The trip from Vinsons to Calaguas though is quite a challenge. We left port in Vinsons at around 8:00 am and went through the southern canal towards the Pacific.
This is a pleasant ride. The wave measurement website said the waves would be at 1.2 meters on the trip, I wondered what it meant.
They're moderate but for those who are not used to it, these waves give you a semi-roller coaster ride. To counter the waves, I tried sitting on lotus position, which was a bad idea. It gave me backache. So, I decided to stand up for most of the trip.
Can this compare with Boracay, Panglao, or Bantayan?
You be the judge. Come over here. I'm going for a swim.
Sent from my iPhone
The cellphone signal was intermittent so I managed to make a few phone calls with the expectation that the island is off line. An hour and half later, the islands became more visible and surprised us with great views. After two hours, we managed to get to the opposite side of the Pacific in Calaguas Island, which is what they call Mahabang Buhangin.
Can this compare with Boracay, Panglao, or Bantayan?
You be the judge. Come over here. I'm going for a swim.
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, May 02, 2014
Thursday, May 01, 2014
We're here at Villa Eusebia Labo, Camarines Norte
The estimated time of arrival was spot on. Ten hours after we left Pasay City. The trip could be faster were it not for the traffic in San Pablo City. Also, the first stop over was not that necessary or it didn't have to be longer than ten minutes.
Most part of the trip was comfortable and even entertaining, especially the coastal road leg from Atimonan to Gumaca. But it became a drag at the later part from Sta. Elena to Labo which seemed like two hours of relentless zig zag.
Our host for tonight is Mang Andin, through the generosity of AMT. We had crispy tadyang, binagoongan and hot sisig and rice for dinner. This is capped with fresh watermelons and buko juice.
We're finishing the night on the karaoke machine. It's a bit loud. We should really go back to the days of pianos and guitars. Anyways, I'll just sing my wife's song, "Each day with you", and call it a night. Calaguas beckons.
Sent from my iPhone
Most part of the trip was comfortable and even entertaining, especially the coastal road leg from Atimonan to Gumaca. But it became a drag at the later part from Sta. Elena to Labo which seemed like two hours of relentless zig zag.
Our host for tonight is Mang Andin, through the generosity of AMT. We had crispy tadyang, binagoongan and hot sisig and rice for dinner. This is capped with fresh watermelons and buko juice.
We're finishing the night on the karaoke machine. It's a bit loud. We should really go back to the days of pianos and guitars. Anyways, I'll just sing my wife's song, "Each day with you", and call it a night. Calaguas beckons.
Sent from my iPhone
Awa ng Diyos, wala pa rin kami dun
It's been a long trip. I feel that if I met my wife at the start of this trip for the first time as a stranger, by the end of this trip, I'd be married to her already. We're in Labo but the station is still elsewhere. The BlackBerry and the IPhone have conked out and I'm down to one working phone. I hope it lasts for the rest of the trip until I could get the others charged.
Sta. Elena to Labo is a wild ride.
The bus was swinging, bags were falling off, water containers were rolling on the bus floor, and Mr. Snore was wide awake. This is one rugged terrain that could rival Kennon road of Baguio. The good thing is we're almost there. A few more minutes of this and I think I need those anti-dizziness tablets. I've finished off all the food stuff in my bag, and is just left with two bottles of Gatorade that I'm saving for the boat trip to Calaguas. It's been a cool trip. The bus aircon worked fine and the weather here is somewhat damp. You wouldn't know that it's summer. It must have rained.
The Home stretch.
We're now in Calauag. The next town is Sta. Elena and then our destination for the bus, Labo. Based on the map, this last leg is all mountain terrain. On the ground, however, the route gives you occasionally a glimpse of the Calauag Bay bathing in the afternoon sun.
Gumaca, Quezon
We had a ten minute break at the pit stop of Philtranco in Gumaca, Quezon. Based on the map, we're halfway done. But we've spent a good seven hours on the road already. This means the pace is going to quicken as we head on to Bicol. We're expected to be at Labo at 5:00pm. Then, we proceed to the Luzarraga Ancestral home for dinner at 6:00pm.
At the pit stop, I was looking for local delicacies and John, our staff member, suggested I get the special tikoy, as it was Gumaca's specialty. What is unique with this tikoy is that it's neatly covered by layers of dried palms that make it look like corn with the cover. I peeled off about four layers of palm, before I got to the tikoy, which was covered in plastic. It seemed like a lot of work so I told Macoy, our maintenance guy in the office to get a knife to open the thing as I was getting impatient with it. Finally, he hands it to me partially without the plastic. I got a pinch, tasted it, and handed the rest of it to Macoy to share with the others. Well, it's tikoy alright, just a tad creamier than the average.
I settled for the chicharon balat ng baboy and got surprised as it could compete with Lapid's in the market. Excellent find here in Gumaca, Quezon.
Now, it gets interesting
We've passed Pagbilao and now are about to enter Atimonan, Quezon. According to the map, the road is near the coastline so I'm hoping to catch photos of the sea. The trouble is there's so much road construction going on and it gets irritating at times.
Atimonan got a bit notorious after a drug related violence involving money and policemen brought it to the headlines. Of course, you don't see that from the bus. The locals look peaceful from this vantage point, but you know violence is lurking somewhere.
The guy behind me is snoring again so that means its getting more comfortable. Jeez, I should congratulate him after this trip for having a good and relaxing sleep. Who knows, he must be a call center guy who hasn't slept for weeks.
Sent from my iPhone
Atimonan got a bit notorious after a drug related violence involving money and policemen brought it to the headlines. Of course, you don't see that from the bus. The locals look peaceful from this vantage point, but you know violence is lurking somewhere.
The guy behind me is snoring again so that means its getting more comfortable. Jeez, I should congratulate him after this trip for having a good and relaxing sleep. Who knows, he must be a call center guy who hasn't slept for weeks.
Sent from my iPhone
It gets bumpy from here
Lunch at Fermil"s
I saw bottles of lambanog on the stand but our staff told me there is a lot more lambanog where we're heading so there's no need to get one from here.
This lambanog links to a memory of a family, which happens to be that of my wife's great grandparents, Magdalena and Pedro Lecaroz, who brewed lambanog during the war to make ends meet. Their son, Aristeo, former Governor of Marinduque, recalls his life as a kutsero, tending to the horses, as his parents load the lambanog to the kalesa for delivery. Those events were barely 70 years ago. And I'm quite lucky having heard of that story from the Governor in one of our meetings in our efforts to sell one of the old couple's prime lands which they bought from their earnings in lambanog and other products. I have a feeling somewhere around this place a similar scene is happening where a couple and their son are tending to their lambanog deliveries. Of course, the world knows how to reward they who can brew good lambanog wherever and whenever.
Ah, I think of alcohol and this trip gets exciting.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
Looking for Ungasis in Tiaong, Quezon
We've moved on a bit faster as we entered the town of Tiaong, Quezon. I'm familiar with this place as this town is also a gateway to San Juan, Batangas where my wife is from. If we turn right at the corner of Chow King, that road leads us to San Juan where the beaches of Laiya are found.
But prior to my meeting my wife, Tiaong lived in my imagination as the hometown of Victorio Ungasis of Wanbol University, the nerdy character of Vic Sotto in the 70's sitcom, Iskul Bukol. Ungasis's mother n the show played by Dely Atay-Atayan was funnier with that thick tagalog accent of Quezon. Although, I haven't really met anyone in real life with that sing-song Tagalog of hers.
That show has left such a mark in my life that until now there is no other way that I describe people with messed up work and messed up lives, including messed up governments, but Iskul Bukol. I wonder what is the story behind Ungasis and Tiaong, Quezon.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
But prior to my meeting my wife, Tiaong lived in my imagination as the hometown of Victorio Ungasis of Wanbol University, the nerdy character of Vic Sotto in the 70's sitcom, Iskul Bukol. Ungasis's mother n the show played by Dely Atay-Atayan was funnier with that thick tagalog accent of Quezon. Although, I haven't really met anyone in real life with that sing-song Tagalog of hers.
That show has left such a mark in my life that until now there is no other way that I describe people with messed up work and messed up lives, including messed up governments, but Iskul Bukol. I wonder what is the story behind Ungasis and Tiaong, Quezon.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
Traffic in San Pablo, Laguna
We're crawling here as the bus hits the urban areas of San Pablo City Laguna. Meanwhile, the guy behind me is snoring like a pig. This is one of the many hassles commuters have to live with. My Blackberry is also about to get its battery drained. It's just been three hours since we left.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
Preacher on the Bus
Before that he distributed little envelopes to everyone. I returned the one he gave me because I thought it was a disturbance of my privacy. He then took the center, apologizes for disturbing us, and rattles off the mantras of giving and other quotes from the Bible. He then goes around asking for cash donations.
I was tempted a bit to demand for his DSWD permit. There is a regulation for this practice, and it requires solicitors to secure a DSWD permit before the can solicit for money from the public.
Ah, let's not ruin my day. So, I chose to ignore him as he gets his donations from the others on the bus. I wonder how much he makes in a day.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
Marvin B. Aceron's Location
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Where does the sun rise?
That sounds like a stupid question, unless you're riding a bus on a ten hour day trip. Why? You want to avoid the sun during the trip because it's uncomfortable to be under direct sunlight, even if you're riding in an air-conditioned bus.
Of course, the sun always rises on the east. But on a trip to the south which side of the bus is east? I missed it. I'm on the left side of the bus. In the confusion for the bus reservations earlier, I thought the sun would be on the right side. Yet, all is not lost because the left side is the morning sun. So, it won't last for too long. By 11:00 am, the sun will be off my face, and the guys on the right side will get the heat, as it were, for the rest of the trip.
Nice trip so far.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
Of course, the sun always rises on the east. But on a trip to the south which side of the bus is east? I missed it. I'm on the left side of the bus. In the confusion for the bus reservations earlier, I thought the sun would be on the right side. Yet, all is not lost because the left side is the morning sun. So, it won't last for too long. By 11:00 am, the sun will be off my face, and the guys on the right side will get the heat, as it were, for the rest of the trip.
Nice trip so far.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
Look No Seat Belts
The bus is clean and cool. That would have been settled at that, except that this is a ten hour trip. The trip would be bumpy midway so it would be nice and comfortable to have seat belts and a mechanism to recline the chairs. But, I don't expect to be asleep the entire trip, so ditch the seat belts.
We had reserved seats for ten and when it seemed that two ladies have taken over our reserved seats, the two lawyers in this trip (that includes me) demanded for their tickets. The frightened ladies said they gave theirs to the driver as we examined our tickets to find out the cause of the confusion. Ooops, a little misreading by our staff led us to believe they took our seats. Okay, we're squared. Everyone is now in his place. The bus is about to roll.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
We had reserved seats for ten and when it seemed that two ladies have taken over our reserved seats, the two lawyers in this trip (that includes me) demanded for their tickets. The frightened ladies said they gave theirs to the driver as we examined our tickets to find out the cause of the confusion. Ooops, a little misreading by our staff led us to believe they took our seats. Okay, we're squared. Everyone is now in his place. The bus is about to roll.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
The Way to Bicol
I've taken this trip before on my way to a court hearing in Naga. But, I found it uneventful as it was a night trip. Today, we're doing this the whole morning and afternoon. For provision, I have four bottles of Gatorade, four hard boiled eggs and half of the left over pizza from last night. Our lunch is most likely going to be burgers, but I wish there will be some local dish for lunch.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
Notes on a Trip to Calaguas
Calaguas is a group of islands in the far fringes of the Bicol region. What prompted me to take this trip after many years of seeking comfortable and predictable ttraveling is probably boredom. Boracay, Bohol, Batangas and Cebu sound like tired destinations. Calaguas offers a back to the basics trip, i.e. the islands have no electricity, I brought along a tent and left my laptop. But the kindle is with me with books from my kindred spirits, David Foster Wallace, Gary Shteyngart, and Danilo Kis. Have beer. Will travel.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"
Hello, Blogger. It's been a while. I'm going on an adventure/work-related trip to Calaguas Islands today with our staff. I'll try posting here from the old Blackberry similar to my Notes on a Trip to Cotabato.
I found a web tool for the trip called the windGuru to check on the waves and this blog entry from Travelogues gives a good heads up on the trip.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Ang Paglilitis kay Juan Luna
Mga Pangyayari:
Setiembre 1892
Villa Dupont Rue de Pergolese
Paris, France
Nabaril ni Juan Luna ang kanyang bayaw, Felix Pardo de Tavera, biyenan, Juliana Gorricho, at asawa, Paz Pardo de Tavera Luna sa bahay nila sa Paris. Gamit ni Luna ang isang baril na kanyang binili higit sa isang linggo pa lang ang nakakaraan bago nangyari ang insidente. Buhay ang bayaw niya. Namatay agad ang kanyang biyenan, sugatan naman nang malubha ang kanyang asawa, subalit namatay din siya lumipas ang ilang araw.Isinakdal si Juan Luna sa naturang krimen. At nagsimula ang isang paglilitis na matuturing na napakahalaga, hindi lamang sa France, pero pati na rin sa Pilipinas.
Mga Kaganapan sa Paglilitis:
Binasahan ng sakdal si Juan Luna ng Clerk of the High Court nung paglilitis na naganap ng 7 Pebrero 1893.Tinanong ng huwes si Juan Luna sa mga pangyayari, at inamin ni Luna na nagpaputok siya ng baril, subalit sinabi rin niya nawala siya sa sarili, at matapos ang unang putok na tumama sa kanyang bayaw, ay hindi na niya maalala ang mga pangyayari.
Sa ganitong sagot, nagtaka ang huwes at sinabing kung nawala ka sa saril, bakit nakapagsalita ka pa sa tabi ng bangkay ng iyong biyenan, at nawika mo pa na napakabait ng iyong biyenan.Ang sagot ni Luna ay, "yun ay dahil sa sakit na labis na pagkawasak. Totoong napakabait niya, lalo na sa aking anak..."Tinanong siya uli ng huwes kung pinagsisihan niya ang pangyayari, at sumagot si Luna na lubha niyang pinagsisihan. Dati siyang maligaya, honorable, at mahal niya ang kanyang asawa. Ngayon ay hindi na niya alam kung gaano ka miserable ang kanyang buhay. Pagkatapos ay napasubsob si Luna sa kanyang upuan, lubhang luhaan.
Sinuspinde ang paglilitis ng panandalian.May walong tao pa ang tumestigo, kasama si Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, kapatid ni Paz, at si Antonio Luna, kapatid ni Juan.
Sa kanyang testimonya, winika ni Trinidad na lubhang nanibugho si Juan sa kanyang asawa dahil pinagsususpetsahan niya na ito'y may relasyon sa isang pranses na nagngangalang, Dussaq. Naging biyolente si Juan at binubugbog sa Paz hanggang sinabi ni Paz na gusto na niyang idoborsyo si Juan.May isang insidente kung saan sinundan ni Juan si Paz isang hapon sa lugar na Mont Thabor. Pumasok si Paz sa isang bahay, sumunod si Juan subalit hindi niya nakita si Paz at sa halip ay nakita niya si Dussaq.
Ang insidenteng ito ay pinatunayan ni Charlotte, isang conciege, na tumestigo rin. Sabi ni Pardo te Tavera, hindi naman inamin sa kanya ng kanyang kapatid ang pangyayaring ito. Pagkatapos sinabi sa kanya ni Luna na tinutukan niya ng baril si Paz at ito'y umamin sa kanya at pumirma ng pag-amin at kasulatang ipauubaya niya na ang anak na si Andres kay Luna. Subalit nagbago ng isip si Luna at nagsabing dadalhin na lang niya ang kanyang mag-ina sa Vigo, Espana upang malayo kay Dussaq.
Sa desisyong ito, hindi pumayag si Juliana dahil sa pangamba na lubusang bugbugin at mapatay ni Luna ang kanyang anak. Pinatawag niya ang kanilang abogado na si Antonio Regidor. Nang dumating si Regidor ay siyang araw din kung kailan dapat umalis sila Luna at nangyari na nga ang patayan. Nang umupo si Antonio Luna bilang testigo, inamin niya na minsa'y sinagip niya ang kanyang hipag sa kamay ng kapatid niyang si Juan na sinasaktan ang asawa dahil sa isang bayarin.
Ang pagsasara ng diskusyon ayon sa mga abogado:
Unang nagsalita sa harap ng hurado and abogado ng magkapaid na Pardo de Tavera na si Felix Decori:
Nilagom ni Decori and mga pangyayari at hinihingi sa hurado na parusahan si Luna. Sinabi niya na hindi dapat makalimutan ang paglilitis ay tungkol sa pagkamatay ng mag-inang Pardo de Tavera at hindi ang paratang ni Luna tungkol kay Paz at sa kanyang mga kaanak.
Binasa ni Decor ang isang liham ni Juliana, ina ni Paz, kay Trinidad kung saan inulit niya ang pamgbubugbog na inabot ng anak sa kamay ni Luna, at ang ang insidente kung saan sapilitang pinapirma ni Juan si Paz ng pag-amin ng kanyang relasyon kay Dussaq.
Sa isang punto, sinabi ni Decori na si Luna ay nabibilang sa lahi ng mga Malay, na kilala sa pagiging tahimik, tamad, walang pakialam subalit biglang nagiging biyolente. "Malay Madness", sabi niya, ang tawag sa kundisyung ito ng mga Malay na pumapatay sa tindi ng galit, katulad ng mga nakahithit ng opyo, hindi nila alam ang kanilang ginagawa, at si Luna ay sadyang ganiyan.
Nagsalita naman ang abugado ng prosecution na si M. Bonn, at sinabi niya ang "Malay Madness' na ito ay hindi kabilang sa mga pagkasira ng ulo na inaabswelto sa batas ng Pranses, kaya hiniling niya na si Luna's parusahan ng hurado.
Ang huling nagsalita ay si Albert Danet, ang abogado ni Luna.
Pinakita ni Danet kung gaano katapat at kagaling sa Luna sa pamamagitan ng mga liham ng mga leader sa Espana at mga sikat na tao sa larangan ng sining at politika na sumulat upang suportahan siya.
Pagkatapos, winika ni Danet and mga liham ni Luna kay Paz kung saaa makikita kung gaano kamahal ni Luna ang kanyang asawa.
Winika niya rin ang pag-aaral ng isang Dr. Felizet na si Juan ay isang indio, kaya dapat siya ay husgahan din ng parang sa indio. Sabi ni Danet si Juan ay hindi katulad ng mga Pranses, iba ang mga bagay na nagpapatakbo ng kanyang mga pulso, kaya hindi siya dapat na husgahan ng parang isang ordinaryong Pranses. Siya ay dapat husgahan na ayon sa kanyang pagkatao.
Sa puntong ito, tinawag ng huwes si Luna at tinanong kung meron siyang gustong sabihin
Tumayo si Luna at humingi ng tawad Sinabi niya sa mga hurado na sana'y hayaan siyang lumaya upang maalagaan niya ang kanyang pangalan na malinis at maisalin niyang mabuti sa kanyang anak.
Ang Hatol
Sa aspetong sibil, pinagbayad si Luna ng halagang isang franc sa magkapatid na Pardo de Tavera bilang danyos perwisyos at ang halaga ng gastos sa kaso.
Sa aspetong kriminal, nagpasya ang hurado na si Luna ay walang kasalanan at siya ay pinalaya.
(Halaw sa Rage! ni Alejandro Roces na inilathala ng La Solidaridad Publishing nung 2008)
Setiembre 1892
Villa Dupont Rue de Pergolese
Paris, France
Nabaril ni Juan Luna ang kanyang bayaw, Felix Pardo de Tavera, biyenan, Juliana Gorricho, at asawa, Paz Pardo de Tavera Luna sa bahay nila sa Paris. Gamit ni Luna ang isang baril na kanyang binili higit sa isang linggo pa lang ang nakakaraan bago nangyari ang insidente. Buhay ang bayaw niya. Namatay agad ang kanyang biyenan, sugatan naman nang malubha ang kanyang asawa, subalit namatay din siya lumipas ang ilang araw.Isinakdal si Juan Luna sa naturang krimen. At nagsimula ang isang paglilitis na matuturing na napakahalaga, hindi lamang sa France, pero pati na rin sa Pilipinas.
Mga Kaganapan sa Paglilitis:
Binasahan ng sakdal si Juan Luna ng Clerk of the High Court nung paglilitis na naganap ng 7 Pebrero 1893.Tinanong ng huwes si Juan Luna sa mga pangyayari, at inamin ni Luna na nagpaputok siya ng baril, subalit sinabi rin niya nawala siya sa sarili, at matapos ang unang putok na tumama sa kanyang bayaw, ay hindi na niya maalala ang mga pangyayari.
Sa ganitong sagot, nagtaka ang huwes at sinabing kung nawala ka sa saril, bakit nakapagsalita ka pa sa tabi ng bangkay ng iyong biyenan, at nawika mo pa na napakabait ng iyong biyenan.Ang sagot ni Luna ay, "yun ay dahil sa sakit na labis na pagkawasak. Totoong napakabait niya, lalo na sa aking anak..."Tinanong siya uli ng huwes kung pinagsisihan niya ang pangyayari, at sumagot si Luna na lubha niyang pinagsisihan. Dati siyang maligaya, honorable, at mahal niya ang kanyang asawa. Ngayon ay hindi na niya alam kung gaano ka miserable ang kanyang buhay. Pagkatapos ay napasubsob si Luna sa kanyang upuan, lubhang luhaan.
Sinuspinde ang paglilitis ng panandalian.May walong tao pa ang tumestigo, kasama si Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, kapatid ni Paz, at si Antonio Luna, kapatid ni Juan.
Sa kanyang testimonya, winika ni Trinidad na lubhang nanibugho si Juan sa kanyang asawa dahil pinagsususpetsahan niya na ito'y may relasyon sa isang pranses na nagngangalang, Dussaq. Naging biyolente si Juan at binubugbog sa Paz hanggang sinabi ni Paz na gusto na niyang idoborsyo si Juan.May isang insidente kung saan sinundan ni Juan si Paz isang hapon sa lugar na Mont Thabor. Pumasok si Paz sa isang bahay, sumunod si Juan subalit hindi niya nakita si Paz at sa halip ay nakita niya si Dussaq.
Ang insidenteng ito ay pinatunayan ni Charlotte, isang conciege, na tumestigo rin. Sabi ni Pardo te Tavera, hindi naman inamin sa kanya ng kanyang kapatid ang pangyayaring ito. Pagkatapos sinabi sa kanya ni Luna na tinutukan niya ng baril si Paz at ito'y umamin sa kanya at pumirma ng pag-amin at kasulatang ipauubaya niya na ang anak na si Andres kay Luna. Subalit nagbago ng isip si Luna at nagsabing dadalhin na lang niya ang kanyang mag-ina sa Vigo, Espana upang malayo kay Dussaq.
Sa desisyong ito, hindi pumayag si Juliana dahil sa pangamba na lubusang bugbugin at mapatay ni Luna ang kanyang anak. Pinatawag niya ang kanilang abogado na si Antonio Regidor. Nang dumating si Regidor ay siyang araw din kung kailan dapat umalis sila Luna at nangyari na nga ang patayan. Nang umupo si Antonio Luna bilang testigo, inamin niya na minsa'y sinagip niya ang kanyang hipag sa kamay ng kapatid niyang si Juan na sinasaktan ang asawa dahil sa isang bayarin.
Ang pagsasara ng diskusyon ayon sa mga abogado:
Unang nagsalita sa harap ng hurado and abogado ng magkapaid na Pardo de Tavera na si Felix Decori:
Nilagom ni Decori and mga pangyayari at hinihingi sa hurado na parusahan si Luna. Sinabi niya na hindi dapat makalimutan ang paglilitis ay tungkol sa pagkamatay ng mag-inang Pardo de Tavera at hindi ang paratang ni Luna tungkol kay Paz at sa kanyang mga kaanak.
Binasa ni Decor ang isang liham ni Juliana, ina ni Paz, kay Trinidad kung saan inulit niya ang pamgbubugbog na inabot ng anak sa kamay ni Luna, at ang ang insidente kung saan sapilitang pinapirma ni Juan si Paz ng pag-amin ng kanyang relasyon kay Dussaq.
Sa isang punto, sinabi ni Decori na si Luna ay nabibilang sa lahi ng mga Malay, na kilala sa pagiging tahimik, tamad, walang pakialam subalit biglang nagiging biyolente. "Malay Madness", sabi niya, ang tawag sa kundisyung ito ng mga Malay na pumapatay sa tindi ng galit, katulad ng mga nakahithit ng opyo, hindi nila alam ang kanilang ginagawa, at si Luna ay sadyang ganiyan.
Nagsalita naman ang abugado ng prosecution na si M. Bonn, at sinabi niya ang "Malay Madness' na ito ay hindi kabilang sa mga pagkasira ng ulo na inaabswelto sa batas ng Pranses, kaya hiniling niya na si Luna's parusahan ng hurado.
Ang huling nagsalita ay si Albert Danet, ang abogado ni Luna.
Pinakita ni Danet kung gaano katapat at kagaling sa Luna sa pamamagitan ng mga liham ng mga leader sa Espana at mga sikat na tao sa larangan ng sining at politika na sumulat upang suportahan siya.
Pagkatapos, winika ni Danet and mga liham ni Luna kay Paz kung saaa makikita kung gaano kamahal ni Luna ang kanyang asawa.
Winika niya rin ang pag-aaral ng isang Dr. Felizet na si Juan ay isang indio, kaya dapat siya ay husgahan din ng parang sa indio. Sabi ni Danet si Juan ay hindi katulad ng mga Pranses, iba ang mga bagay na nagpapatakbo ng kanyang mga pulso, kaya hindi siya dapat na husgahan ng parang isang ordinaryong Pranses. Siya ay dapat husgahan na ayon sa kanyang pagkatao.
Sa puntong ito, tinawag ng huwes si Luna at tinanong kung meron siyang gustong sabihin
Tumayo si Luna at humingi ng tawad Sinabi niya sa mga hurado na sana'y hayaan siyang lumaya upang maalagaan niya ang kanyang pangalan na malinis at maisalin niyang mabuti sa kanyang anak.
Ang Hatol
Sa aspetong sibil, pinagbayad si Luna ng halagang isang franc sa magkapatid na Pardo de Tavera bilang danyos perwisyos at ang halaga ng gastos sa kaso.
Sa aspetong kriminal, nagpasya ang hurado na si Luna ay walang kasalanan at siya ay pinalaya.
(Halaw sa Rage! ni Alejandro Roces na inilathala ng La Solidaridad Publishing nung 2008)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Unreported in the news: Was the death of a runner in the Milo Marathon due to the organizers' negligence?
I found the following email in my inbox last night.
X. X. X. X. X. X
REMUS FUENTES died of multiple organ failures as result of heatstroke secondary to severe dehydration two days after he ran the 21K in the recent 34th Milo Marathon last Sunday, July 4, 2010.
His death was the result of fatal mistakes, incompetence and negligence in the event organized by Organizing Team.
My son, 37-year-old Remus ran the 21K together with a running buddy when he collapsed at 19.9 kilometer mark. There was none of organizer’s ambulance nor marshalls to respond in the incident. Policemen hailed for a taxi and they, together with his buddy, assisted in bringing him to the nearest hospital, Ospital ng Maynila. At the ER, the diagnose was suspected heart attack. My wife and me, upon being informed by his younger brother, Roy Fuentes, who also ran the 21K, rushed to the hospital and saw that Remus in coma, had seizures and struggled breathing in spite of hand-pumped oxygen and dextrose attached. His body temperature was 40 degrees C and when asked, the medical attendant told us he had fever. She introduced paracetamol intravenously twice at interval of about 15 minutes. Remus continued having seizures even until the arrival of Medical City doctor & ambulance attendants that we have arranged for his transfer. The Medical City doctor attending said his status was unstable, contrary to the earlier advice to her by the Ospital ng Maynila ER doctor. They rushed him with the ambulance to Medical City at about 11:30 AM. There, a series of tests were done, including blood chemistry, CT scan, etc. Cardiologist told us his heart was strong and no intervening medicine was necessary. Blood Chemistry results showed positive findings on creatinin level, an indication of kidney failure. They suspected liver failure too. To stop his seizures, Remus was put on full sedation for 12 hours. Kidney functions further deteriorated after 36 hours. Blood pressure and heart rate went erratic. Doctors attending him in the ICU asked our permission to do dialysis and blood transfusion to stabilize his blood pressure. Seven hours later, ICU nurse wake us up and asked us to rush to the ICU. We saw 18 medical people around him, several taking turn doing the CPR. Failing to revive him, the doctor asked our consent to stop the CPR after 15 minutes. We begged them to continue hoping for miracle. 30 minutes further, doctor told us again that all numbers in the monitoring “were bad” and asked again the consent to stop the CPR. Finally, we relented. Few minutes later, his heart rate monitor went flat. All these happened in front of my wife and me. We lost Remus 48 hours after he collapsed into coma which he has never recovered. His young wife and his eight-year old son took the news very badly.
About Heatstroke:
It usually happen in extreme sports like basketball, football, boxing and marathon.
Heat stroke is a life-threatening medical condition. The person's cooling system, which is controlled by the brain http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2516, stops working and the internal body temperature rises to the point where brain damage or damage to other internal organs may result. The body temperature, usually at normal 37 C, goes up during the exertion of effort as result of the increased heart rate. When it reaches 40 C, the person is in danger of getting heatstroke. Above 40 C and mostly at about 42 C, the person can collapse into unconsciousness. If nothing is done within few minutes, he can slip into coma and brain damage may occur. The proven first aid response for heatstroke is cooling the body rapidly in whatever means to the level of below 40 C before bringing him to a hospital. Ice and water is the best way to do this, the same way it is done for a child having high fever who has convulsion.
Another way of understanding heatstroke is comparing it to the performance of car engine. At idling, the engine temp is low and safe. At sustained high speed, engine temperature increases rapidly but because of the cooling system, the heat is continuously dissipated in the radiator and safe temperature level is maintained. But when the water in the radiator is gone, Undissipated heat will rack up the engine temperature and ultimately exceeds the safe limits. At this condition, engine breakdown will occur in minutes starting with broken piston rings, rods, pistons, etc.
With the human body, perspiration cools down the body so hydration by drinking water is essential. Without water, perspiration stops and body temperature goes to critical level and into heatstroke and then organs and brain begin to fail.
Big obvious difference between human body and car engine is that you can always overhaul the engine but you cannot do that on the human body.
Why Heatstroke is More Dangerous in Marathon than in other Extreme Sports?
In basketball, the player exerts extreme effort only in bursts, stopping or slowing down intermittently which slows down heart rate and cools down the body. At timeout, they drink to replenish lost body water hence you always have the waterboy. Heart stroke is rare but ask any PBA player what they do when a player collapse. They don’t move the body but cool them off with water or ice before bringing him to the hospital.
The same is true in football and in many similar sports.
In boxing, in between rounds of three minutes, boxer rests and drinks water. We can only wonder what will happen if the rule of the sport is drastically changed and will only end when one is down and out.
In Marathon, the risk of heatstroke is much higher for the following reasons:
The long distance runner aims for shorter time as a goal and therefore motivated to keep a sustained effort, not unlike cars at high speed in the highway.
Furthermore, the target minimum time set by the organizer adds more to the motivation to run faster. The cut-off time added more pressure to the marginal marathon runner, meaning if you are used to run above the target time, the tendency is to do better time, probably at pace unproven by your body in practice. (Milo Marathon set the target for 21K medal at 2 ½ hours or less. Remus collapsed at near 20th km. with time of 2 hours 10 minutes when his previous record was 2 hours and 27 minutes. ).
The more critical factor is that the hydration management is not in the control of the runner. He has to rely on water availability at the water stations provided and planned by the organizer along the route. ( In this 34th Milo Marathon, several runners including Remus brother, Roy and Remus running buddy asserted that practically there was no water to drink in the last 2~3 kilometers before the finish line, a fatal failure for Remus by the organizer when they changed the route resulting in over-traffic near the finish line. There were record 28,000 runners on that day and the organizers failed to anticipate the complexity of hydration. Milo’s last year marathon participant was well below 10,000 runners.)
The correct life-saving response for heatstroke depends on few knowledgable people who may happen to be around the person. To mitigate this, the organizer deploys ambulances with water & ice for cooling heatstroke victims and is expected to respond within minutes. In addition, marshalls are provided along the route to assess runner situations continuously. (Obviously, the organizer failed again on this aspect because Remus was helped by policemen and his buddy instead. By this time, Remus is probably already brain damaged as evident by his seizure at the hospital. No Milo people knew of Remus case on that day until Roy, his brother, sent an email informing the organizer of the incident in the next morning)
The Sun Factor adds to the danger in Marathon. Running under the heat of the sun in tropical country like ours cannot be underestimated. To minimize the effect of the sunheat, Marathon run is planned to finish in the early morning avoiding the heat at later time. Organizers usually take this into consideration. (Milo organized the 21K to start at 5:30 AM , a departure of common practice of other marathons which started at 5:00 AM. Remus collapsed at about 7:57 AM. Roy who is a better runner than his brother Remus, complained that it was unusually hot that morning even if he was able to finish it earlier in 2 hours 45 minutes )
Clearly, Marathon is an extreme and dangerous sport even to the young, healthy and trained runners. This is not the “fun run” many people confused of.
The organizer has clear life-and-death responsibility to make sure that the conditions the runner will run under item 3, 4 and 5 above are done properly. Obviously they did not do their job properly in the 34th Milo Marathon. In my opinion, being the father of Remus, Milo Marathon Organizer have failed my son. It is their incompetence and negligence in their duty that results in the death of Remus …an unneccesary death.
About Remus:
At the time of his death, he was an IT project manager of Hewlett-Packard (HP) responsible in computerizing big companies like Unilab, Coke, etc. including installation of hardwares (servers, etc.) and software system. He used to worked for Intel for 10 years before he moved to HP 3 years ago. He graduated in Computer Engineering. He left a housewife, Takako and two children, Raphael, 8 years old and Therese, 4 years old. Raphael is enrolled at La Salle Greenhills. He played basketball with his brothers regularly on weekends. He has been running since his high school days in Lourdes School of Mandaluyong. He has run many 10Ks and two 21Ks before these, the “Freedom Run” in June 13 and “Nature Valley” in May 20 only this year. He has no history nor complaint of illness and he lived clean.
My Questions for the Marathon Organizer:
How many died in the 34th Milo Marathon last July 4? Is it true that there was another runner at 42K who collapsed at 33 km and later died?
How many runner collapsed in that marathon due to heatstroke who later survived but now are no longer the same person as before due to partial brain injury? At Ospital ng Maynila, we saw a 2nd runner brought in unconscious and woke up later but he can no longer recognize his family. Do the Organizers knew this? What happened to him. Are their more?
Is it true that another 36 year-old runner, Fidel Camson, who ran the 42K 31st Milo Marathon in November 2007 collapsed near the finish line, brought to the Ospital ng Maynila and died later of undetermined cause? If true, what did they do avoid a repeat which apparently did not happen in this 34th Milo Marathon? If true, why do they still keep the Marathon organizer for 10 years until now?
Do they keep tally of deaths in the 34 years of Milo Marathon? Do they study the statistics and establish how many died of heatstroke, the preventable one?
What is the corporate culture of the Organizers regarding its respect of the value of life? Upon knowing the death of my son Remus, A Senior Vice President of one of the organizing team, who head its Beverages Business Unit went to see me and among other things, he told me that the Marathon is continuously improved and but sometimes “lapses occur and they will learn from these lapses”. Lapse is defined as a ‘mistake’. People learn from ‘error’, a deviation from being correct but a ‘mistake’ is caused by a fault: the fault could be misjudgment or carelessness. We learn from ‘error’ but we take action on ‘mistake’ and more drastic action when people die of this ‘mistake’. So death in my son’s case is a mere learning process for this person? Is this the culture that pervades in their Organization? or only in him?
Is the measly “humanitarian” offer to help the family shoulder medical & funeral expense to the family had become an SOP too often? Was it their expectation that as appreciation of this help, the family will keep quiet about the whole thing? Do they really think that the waiver signed by the runners protect them from being liable? Do they know that this waiver won’t apply if negligence of their duty as organizer can be established?
What did the Organizers do, if any, to keep the news of Remus death from appearing in the media even after one week? Not one news item of his death appeared in the newspaper, TV or radio. Could the news of “ HP Manager Died of HeatStroke during the Milo Marathon” not interest the public? Were they afraid that the bigger news is when the subline “Father charged Milo Marathon Organizer of Incompetence and Negligence” which may damage the public image of the company?
The answers to these questions will help enlightened the public whether Milo Marathon is safe or not for the runner. To the runners, their parents, wives and relatives…they all better asked these questions before the runners decide to run in Milo Marathon.
Last Words from Remus Father:
I am not condemning the sport but the organizer who failed to make sure runners will not die of heatstroke, when the risks can be grossly minimized with proper route planning, hydration management and quick medical response. I am condemning the contribution of the apparent culture of the sponsor of diminished value of human life as indicative of its senior executive’s attitude that my son’s death is a result of lapses. My hope is something good will come out of his death and as result of improved organizing of the marathon run, few lives will be saved from heatstroke. My other hope is to get justice and for the Organizing Team to answer for his untimely death. I am working on it.
Rudy Fuentes, Father of Remus
X. X. X. X. X. X
REMUS FUENTES died of multiple organ failures as result of heatstroke secondary to severe dehydration two days after he ran the 21K in the recent 34th Milo Marathon last Sunday, July 4, 2010.
His death was the result of fatal mistakes, incompetence and negligence in the event organized by Organizing Team.
My son, 37-year-old Remus ran the 21K together with a running buddy when he collapsed at 19.9 kilometer mark. There was none of organizer’s ambulance nor marshalls to respond in the incident. Policemen hailed for a taxi and they, together with his buddy, assisted in bringing him to the nearest hospital, Ospital ng Maynila. At the ER, the diagnose was suspected heart attack. My wife and me, upon being informed by his younger brother, Roy Fuentes, who also ran the 21K, rushed to the hospital and saw that Remus in coma, had seizures and struggled breathing in spite of hand-pumped oxygen and dextrose attached. His body temperature was 40 degrees C and when asked, the medical attendant told us he had fever. She introduced paracetamol intravenously twice at interval of about 15 minutes. Remus continued having seizures even until the arrival of Medical City doctor & ambulance attendants that we have arranged for his transfer. The Medical City doctor attending said his status was unstable, contrary to the earlier advice to her by the Ospital ng Maynila ER doctor. They rushed him with the ambulance to Medical City at about 11:30 AM. There, a series of tests were done, including blood chemistry, CT scan, etc. Cardiologist told us his heart was strong and no intervening medicine was necessary. Blood Chemistry results showed positive findings on creatinin level, an indication of kidney failure. They suspected liver failure too. To stop his seizures, Remus was put on full sedation for 12 hours. Kidney functions further deteriorated after 36 hours. Blood pressure and heart rate went erratic. Doctors attending him in the ICU asked our permission to do dialysis and blood transfusion to stabilize his blood pressure. Seven hours later, ICU nurse wake us up and asked us to rush to the ICU. We saw 18 medical people around him, several taking turn doing the CPR. Failing to revive him, the doctor asked our consent to stop the CPR after 15 minutes. We begged them to continue hoping for miracle. 30 minutes further, doctor told us again that all numbers in the monitoring “were bad” and asked again the consent to stop the CPR. Finally, we relented. Few minutes later, his heart rate monitor went flat. All these happened in front of my wife and me. We lost Remus 48 hours after he collapsed into coma which he has never recovered. His young wife and his eight-year old son took the news very badly.
About Heatstroke:
It usually happen in extreme sports like basketball, football, boxing and marathon.
Heat stroke is a life-threatening medical condition. The person's cooling system, which is controlled by the brain http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2516, stops working and the internal body temperature rises to the point where brain damage or damage to other internal organs may result. The body temperature, usually at normal 37 C, goes up during the exertion of effort as result of the increased heart rate. When it reaches 40 C, the person is in danger of getting heatstroke. Above 40 C and mostly at about 42 C, the person can collapse into unconsciousness. If nothing is done within few minutes, he can slip into coma and brain damage may occur. The proven first aid response for heatstroke is cooling the body rapidly in whatever means to the level of below 40 C before bringing him to a hospital. Ice and water is the best way to do this, the same way it is done for a child having high fever who has convulsion.
Another way of understanding heatstroke is comparing it to the performance of car engine. At idling, the engine temp is low and safe. At sustained high speed, engine temperature increases rapidly but because of the cooling system, the heat is continuously dissipated in the radiator and safe temperature level is maintained. But when the water in the radiator is gone, Undissipated heat will rack up the engine temperature and ultimately exceeds the safe limits. At this condition, engine breakdown will occur in minutes starting with broken piston rings, rods, pistons, etc.
With the human body, perspiration cools down the body so hydration by drinking water is essential. Without water, perspiration stops and body temperature goes to critical level and into heatstroke and then organs and brain begin to fail.
Big obvious difference between human body and car engine is that you can always overhaul the engine but you cannot do that on the human body.
Why Heatstroke is More Dangerous in Marathon than in other Extreme Sports?
In basketball, the player exerts extreme effort only in bursts, stopping or slowing down intermittently which slows down heart rate and cools down the body. At timeout, they drink to replenish lost body water hence you always have the waterboy. Heart stroke is rare but ask any PBA player what they do when a player collapse. They don’t move the body but cool them off with water or ice before bringing him to the hospital.
The same is true in football and in many similar sports.
In boxing, in between rounds of three minutes, boxer rests and drinks water. We can only wonder what will happen if the rule of the sport is drastically changed and will only end when one is down and out.
In Marathon, the risk of heatstroke is much higher for the following reasons:
The long distance runner aims for shorter time as a goal and therefore motivated to keep a sustained effort, not unlike cars at high speed in the highway.
Furthermore, the target minimum time set by the organizer adds more to the motivation to run faster. The cut-off time added more pressure to the marginal marathon runner, meaning if you are used to run above the target time, the tendency is to do better time, probably at pace unproven by your body in practice. (Milo Marathon set the target for 21K medal at 2 ½ hours or less. Remus collapsed at near 20th km. with time of 2 hours 10 minutes when his previous record was 2 hours and 27 minutes. ).
The more critical factor is that the hydration management is not in the control of the runner. He has to rely on water availability at the water stations provided and planned by the organizer along the route. ( In this 34th Milo Marathon, several runners including Remus brother, Roy and Remus running buddy asserted that practically there was no water to drink in the last 2~3 kilometers before the finish line, a fatal failure for Remus by the organizer when they changed the route resulting in over-traffic near the finish line. There were record 28,000 runners on that day and the organizers failed to anticipate the complexity of hydration. Milo’s last year marathon participant was well below 10,000 runners.)
The correct life-saving response for heatstroke depends on few knowledgable people who may happen to be around the person. To mitigate this, the organizer deploys ambulances with water & ice for cooling heatstroke victims and is expected to respond within minutes. In addition, marshalls are provided along the route to assess runner situations continuously. (Obviously, the organizer failed again on this aspect because Remus was helped by policemen and his buddy instead. By this time, Remus is probably already brain damaged as evident by his seizure at the hospital. No Milo people knew of Remus case on that day until Roy, his brother, sent an email informing the organizer of the incident in the next morning)
The Sun Factor adds to the danger in Marathon. Running under the heat of the sun in tropical country like ours cannot be underestimated. To minimize the effect of the sunheat, Marathon run is planned to finish in the early morning avoiding the heat at later time. Organizers usually take this into consideration. (Milo organized the 21K to start at 5:30 AM , a departure of common practice of other marathons which started at 5:00 AM. Remus collapsed at about 7:57 AM. Roy who is a better runner than his brother Remus, complained that it was unusually hot that morning even if he was able to finish it earlier in 2 hours 45 minutes )
Clearly, Marathon is an extreme and dangerous sport even to the young, healthy and trained runners. This is not the “fun run” many people confused of.
The organizer has clear life-and-death responsibility to make sure that the conditions the runner will run under item 3, 4 and 5 above are done properly. Obviously they did not do their job properly in the 34th Milo Marathon. In my opinion, being the father of Remus, Milo Marathon Organizer have failed my son. It is their incompetence and negligence in their duty that results in the death of Remus …an unneccesary death.
About Remus:
At the time of his death, he was an IT project manager of Hewlett-Packard (HP) responsible in computerizing big companies like Unilab, Coke, etc. including installation of hardwares (servers, etc.) and software system. He used to worked for Intel for 10 years before he moved to HP 3 years ago. He graduated in Computer Engineering. He left a housewife, Takako and two children, Raphael, 8 years old and Therese, 4 years old. Raphael is enrolled at La Salle Greenhills. He played basketball with his brothers regularly on weekends. He has been running since his high school days in Lourdes School of Mandaluyong. He has run many 10Ks and two 21Ks before these, the “Freedom Run” in June 13 and “Nature Valley” in May 20 only this year. He has no history nor complaint of illness and he lived clean.
My Questions for the Marathon Organizer:
How many died in the 34th Milo Marathon last July 4? Is it true that there was another runner at 42K who collapsed at 33 km and later died?
How many runner collapsed in that marathon due to heatstroke who later survived but now are no longer the same person as before due to partial brain injury? At Ospital ng Maynila, we saw a 2nd runner brought in unconscious and woke up later but he can no longer recognize his family. Do the Organizers knew this? What happened to him. Are their more?
Is it true that another 36 year-old runner, Fidel Camson, who ran the 42K 31st Milo Marathon in November 2007 collapsed near the finish line, brought to the Ospital ng Maynila and died later of undetermined cause? If true, what did they do avoid a repeat which apparently did not happen in this 34th Milo Marathon? If true, why do they still keep the Marathon organizer for 10 years until now?
Do they keep tally of deaths in the 34 years of Milo Marathon? Do they study the statistics and establish how many died of heatstroke, the preventable one?
What is the corporate culture of the Organizers regarding its respect of the value of life? Upon knowing the death of my son Remus, A Senior Vice President of one of the organizing team, who head its Beverages Business Unit went to see me and among other things, he told me that the Marathon is continuously improved and but sometimes “lapses occur and they will learn from these lapses”. Lapse is defined as a ‘mistake’. People learn from ‘error’, a deviation from being correct but a ‘mistake’ is caused by a fault: the fault could be misjudgment or carelessness. We learn from ‘error’ but we take action on ‘mistake’ and more drastic action when people die of this ‘mistake’. So death in my son’s case is a mere learning process for this person? Is this the culture that pervades in their Organization? or only in him?
Is the measly “humanitarian” offer to help the family shoulder medical & funeral expense to the family had become an SOP too often? Was it their expectation that as appreciation of this help, the family will keep quiet about the whole thing? Do they really think that the waiver signed by the runners protect them from being liable? Do they know that this waiver won’t apply if negligence of their duty as organizer can be established?
What did the Organizers do, if any, to keep the news of Remus death from appearing in the media even after one week? Not one news item of his death appeared in the newspaper, TV or radio. Could the news of “ HP Manager Died of HeatStroke during the Milo Marathon” not interest the public? Were they afraid that the bigger news is when the subline “Father charged Milo Marathon Organizer of Incompetence and Negligence” which may damage the public image of the company?
The answers to these questions will help enlightened the public whether Milo Marathon is safe or not for the runner. To the runners, their parents, wives and relatives…they all better asked these questions before the runners decide to run in Milo Marathon.
Last Words from Remus Father:
I am not condemning the sport but the organizer who failed to make sure runners will not die of heatstroke, when the risks can be grossly minimized with proper route planning, hydration management and quick medical response. I am condemning the contribution of the apparent culture of the sponsor of diminished value of human life as indicative of its senior executive’s attitude that my son’s death is a result of lapses. My hope is something good will come out of his death and as result of improved organizing of the marathon run, few lives will be saved from heatstroke. My other hope is to get justice and for the Organizing Team to answer for his untimely death. I am working on it.
Rudy Fuentes, Father of Remus
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