This column mourns the passing of an extraordinary public servant and champion of the working class, party list representative Crispin “Ka Bel “ Beltran, who succumbed to injuries suffered during an accident at his home, May 20 in Bulacan.
Beltran was rushed to the hospital after falling off the roof of his house that he was fixing.
Ka Bel as he was known, served as secretary –general of the militant the Kilusan Mayo Uno (KMU) that fought hard to protect the rights and welfare of workers in the Philippines and was one of those arrested under President Gloria Arroyo’s order last 2007. He also represented the Anak Pawis party in congress.
It was only last April 8 that Ka Bel was one of the guest speakers of the Philippine Press Club-Ontario (PPCO) along with representatives Satur Ocampo and Luz Ilagan.
The three visited Ottawa to give Canadian legislators an appraisal of the human rights conditions obtaining under the Arroyo government which they alleged had committed numerous violations as shown by rampant political killings and disappearances of known Activists.
What is very unusual and admirable about the late Ka Bel was that at the time of his death, it was revealed that his total net worth as a congressman was only P50, 000 or roughly more than $1,000, when all of his colleagues in the House of Representatives averages million and millions of pesos in assets.
It was his philosophy of leading a simple life that made him fix the leak in the roof of his house by himself when he could have easily hired somebody to do the job.
He suffered bout of dizziness (he had hypertension) at the time he was on the roof that caused his bad fall .
Ka Bel is indeed a rarity among public officials.
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MANILA NOTES;: The Filipino is indeed a resilient breed. Despite the rice crisis, the weekly increase in the price of gasoline and other oil products and an upsurge in the cost of consumer goods, they still find time to enjoy themselves. Small wonder, Pinoys have always survived hard times including two decades of dictatorial rule.
Visit any mall at any given time and you will see what I mean. It’s always jam-packed with shoppers, most probably families of OFWs (overseas foreign workers)spending remittances from abroad or others who simply want to cool themselves in the comfort of the air-conditioned environment but nevertheless they still spend whatever money they have.
Nowadays, everybody seem to be trooping to the humongous (MOA) Mall of Asia of Shoemart’s Henry Sy along the reclaimed area of Manila near Baclaran. It is fast becoming a popular family oriented venue for the “jologs “ or the masa.
A new attraction at the MOA is the San Miguel by the Bay, a string of restaurants (most of them seafood restos along the tradition of Dampa or seaside mart where you buy fresh seafood and have it cooked). It has since replaced the now demolished Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard.
It’s located in front of the MOA and is also a popular boardwalk “pasyalan “by everyone who want to shoot the breeze of Manila Bay.
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BANK HEISTS ON THE RISE? It could be a sign of hard times, but there is a seeming escalation of crimes specially bank robberies and hold-ups . But the massacre of nine bank employees and a bank client last May 16, perhaps the bloodiest in the history of bank hold-ups in the Philippines, shocked the whole nation because of the severity and cruelty never before witnessed.. The victims of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) branch in Cabuyao, Laguna were all shot in the head execution style with the suspects running off with more than P14million pesos and undetermined amount of foreign currency.
Only a few days earlier, a businessman lost his life and P1 million in cash when he was ambushed after he withdrew money from a Metro bank branch in Paco, Manila, a very busy area. Two pursing cops also lost their lives in a shoot-out with the fleeing suspects.
The two crimes came at the heels of a series of bank hold-ups involving the same bank company Metro bank that seemed to be the favourite target of criminals.
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CONDO, MALL AND RESTO BOOMS: Amid all these, it seems that life is not that bad in Pinas. There is a frenzied pace of condo and other real estate projects going on much of them targeting the expats and foreigners like South Koreans, Japanese and more recently a steady influx of Europeans lured by cheap prices and white-sand beaches and diving spots scattered around the archipelago .
Unheard of destinations like Pagudpud in the Ilocos region or Camarines Sur and Norte are now raking in tourist businesses never before seen some years back.
Even despite the notorious traffic of Metro Manila fails to discourage visitors to the Metropolis which is also seeing a growing number of shopping malls in every points of the area and also around urban centers in the countryside.
The three big Taipans of the country, the Lucio Tans, the Henry Sys or the Gokongweis seemed more than convinced that there is indeed more hope for the country than any other true-blue-blooded Filipinos who constantly mouth their love of their native land but stash their wealth abroad. They continue to pour new ventures and investments in the country ranging from malls, airlines, banks, real estate and even micro financing to spur the growth of small and medium industries.