Tragic Plane Crash

The mystery why that Malaysian Airways plane just suddenly disappeared from the trackers’ radar screen may never be known soon. The difficult part is how to deal with the anxious, frantic and already angry relatives of those missing passengers. I recall when I was crisis manager of the crashed Cebu Pacific Flight 387 in 1998 in the mountains of Misamis Oriental just outside of Cagayan de Oro City, the biggest and most difficult work for me was on dealing with the grieving relatives. It was only on the fourth day after the crash that body bags containing shredded human parts (there were no intact dead bodies) were brought down by PAF helicopters. I can’t imagine how the Malaysian Airways authorities are dealing with this, now that several days have passed and chances of finding survivors are getting slimmer.

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ZAF RESPICIO — I was in Yangon in Myanmar when I got word that former Davao City OIC Mayor Zafiro Respicio passed a few days ago. He will be buried today, Sunday in Kidapawan City where he spent his remaining days in the comfort zone of friends and relatives amidst his  well- tended fruit farm  that helped him nurse his failing  health and perhaps, his troubled mind  up to the end. One good man gone.

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RECALLING — Zaf was a fiery, principled  oppositionist who helped fight former Pres. Marcos and the martial law regime. He got used to being a critic that when Pres. Cory Aquino became president, he  confessed to me one time that he had difficulty adjusting to an unfamiliar role of being in the administration. As a student leader and then in government, he was at home attacking and criticizing, but not defending.     Unfortunately, later in his life, a crisis came. He  had legal problems due to his brief  stint at the Immigration bureau so he secluded himself in self exile in his hometown in Kidapawan nurturing the bad fate befalling him until he died. He was a good friend. May he rest in peace.

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MYANMAR NOTES — Almost all are Buddhists. Formerly called Burma, Myanmar has a muslim minority where some ethnic  tensions are taking place.  In fact they are now in the process of forging a ceasefire agreement. I saw young shaved children in colorful garbs going through the streets begging for alms for their monks in their pagodas or temples.  Many men wear skirts, a native attire called “lung gee”. Their famous golden Shwegadon Pagoda, considered the largest golden monument on earth around 300 feet tall towers in  the center of Yangon and gives a yellow glow at night visible from afar. Bygone kings and royal rulers donated gold to finally erect it some 2,500 years ago.  We had to be barefooted to walk around.  Then there’s the famous reclining pagoda nearby in Sule.  The country is now opening up to the world and fast catching up. It has its usual challenges on press freedom and human rights issues that are expected in a transitioning country from a repressive regime into a functioning democracy. It is still experiencing “birth pains”. World famous woman oppositionist leader  Aung San Suu Kyi  is revered even by the ordinary taxi drivers I talked to. It’s good to watch how Myanmar charters its own course. Especially now that it’s Myanmar’s turn this year to chair the ASEAN as its president.

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CATHOLIC MEDIA — A few days ago last week, Archbishop Valles convened the annual meeting of the Verbum Dei Foundation, Inc. that supports the communications thrusts of the archdiocese. In addition to the Davao Catholic Herald newspaper,  it was agreed that steps be taken for the  revival of  the  defunct radio station that is still the favorite medium of the ordinary folks, including the use  of the social media.  There will be a series of activities that will seek the mandate and support of the whole archdiocese.  It’s about time that the Church keeps pace with the advancement of cyber technology. Way to go!