Playing with Fire
Ashok might go to India for blood donors
By Gonzalo Duque
OUR last Media in Action was a revelation, full of surprises.
From the usual 30 or so persons, mostly PPC members, of course, about 50 came. And took part in the discussions spiritedly.
Buhay na buhay ang club, sabi ng katabi natin.
Probably it was because of the guests who came, mostly newsmakers, and friends of the media.
Who wouldn’t know Abono chairman Sendong with his Loterya ng Bayan views! Aha, our popular Region l Medical Center Director Dr. Roland Mejia was also around, an info czar these days, what with his anti Dengue drive. You should know that the disease is all over the region! Did you know that this columnist almost died because of it?
Muntik na, mga igan. But St. Peter sent us back to earth. But we literally died for a few hours at the Philippine Heart Center! Our naughty friends said they were not ready to take us kasi bad grass daw!
A priest who passed by thought we were a heart patient.
Dr. Roland was accompanied by Dr. Mike Canto, his very able alter ego who is making waves in health campaigns.
And in the larger scene, we had two guests from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan — Board Members Ming Rosario, a doctor of medicine himself, and Von Mark Mendoza, whose late erpat was our beermate.
It was good that they came because the provincial board has been in the news, on the so-called jueteng payola. Magawagawa yay Mortz Ortigoza awa? But they denied it. Expected.
Someone whispered something but whose content we could not reveal. He said “shhhh….that’s why we had plenty of media people. Whatever he said should please us because it would signal the gathering reunification of media people hereabouts. Ok ba pare Ruben Rivera?
Anyways, the forum was full of intriguing, newsy and headline-making questions, and our guests were just as excited to give their answers. Someone noticed something. Ok na raw magtatanong ang local media. We said, dapat lang, sa linggo linggong forum dapat matuto na sila.
During the forum our Executive Director Ging told us something that our foreigner guest two weeks back, Canadian journalist and Ateneo journ prof Ms. Kim Kierans confided that she lost her daughter while she was in Dagupan. When he asked why she didn’t even inform the body so that we could have expressed our sympathy, she said, “I didn’t want to spoil the party.” What a lady!
She is very professional, a true journalist. Thru this space, we’re sending her our heartfelt sympathy and prayers.
Speaking of dying, we wish to condole, too, with our friends, Atty. Dindo and Butch Merrera whose mother, former RTC Judge Corazon Calimlim-Merrera died last week. It was a brutal death, and we wish justice be meted out soon.
To our partner Jun Velasco whose mother n law, mother of his wife Cathy — former school principal Rosario Berbardo — who also died at age 93.
Marami nang namamatay. These incidents tend to humanize us because sooner or later we, too, without exception are going to die.
That’s why, let’s diminish this away-away ha? Magmahalan tayo.
Back to Dengue. Having gone thru it, we issue this warning. If you feel some headache, body pains, have high fever and rashes with vague reasons, go to Roland Mejia at once.
Due to the prevalence of dengue, our friend, EVP Ashok must be busy collecting blood for the Red Cross. Someone suggested that if we run out of it, he could go to India and get blood donations from the l.2 billion people there. Naku, ondelap na dala dia!
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