March 29, 2024

Let’s start with a prayer for healing: “Loving God, I pray that You will comfort me in my suffering, lend skill to the hands of my healers, and bless the means used for my cure. Give me such confidence in the power of Your grace, that even when I am afraid, I may put my whole trust in You; through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” (from the Internet)


It is oft been said that “one death is one too many,” especially those lost in disasters like the ongoing China virus pandemic. Some would opine, however, that this should depend on the life that is lost. What if the life lost is Hitler’s or any other monster-in-human-form who have caused harm to others? Would their deaths be considered a loss to humanity? That’s a good point, honestly. Well, maybe the adage should be tweaked to state that “one death of an innocent person is one too many”?
Of course, religious individuals would say that only God can judge who is innocent or not. And the arguments go on and on, ad infinitum. The Greek philosopher Socrates would be right at home.
Anyway, although this near-sighted Ibaloy writer has a lot of misgivings in Pres. Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign, we agree when he reiterated in his 5th State of the Nation Address that as long as there is no Covid-19 vaccine, there should be no face-to-face classes. The chief executive stressed his unwillingness to risk the precious lives of our students and teachers. He said while temporarily stalled education can be recovered, a human life that is lost is lost forever. As a parent, I say “Amen.”


FYI: Here’s a fair warning from Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong on the release of details of Covid-19 patients.
“Reports have reached the undersigned that unauthorized release of names and particulars of our residents who have tested positive for Covid-19 is spreading over social media. This act is downright irresponsible and heartless.
Please be reminded, Section 9 of Republic Act 11332, the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act,” prohibits unauthorized disclosure of private and confidential information pertaining to a patient’s medical condition or treatment. The act is punishable with imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six months or fine of not less than P20,000 but not more than P50,000 or both at the discretion of the court.
Also under RA 10173 or the Data Privacy Act, unauthorized disclosure of personal information carries a penalty of one to three years of incarceration and a fine of P500,000 to P1 million. Malicious disclosure, on the other hand, carries a penalty of one year and six months to six years of imprisonment and a fine of P500,000 to P1M. As thus, we appeal to the public, please exercise discretion. Stop sharing information about our own Baguio folks. Regardless of this pandemic, each of us owe one another respect and privacy. Besides, you might thoughtlessly be violating the law by being a party to the spread of unauthorized information. I already asked PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group to have this investigated. Those responsible will have their time in court. We will go after you. We will find you. We will hold you responsible.


Here’s “Hot and Cold” by Roald Dahl: “A woman who my mother knows/ Came in and took off all her clothes./ Said I, not being very old,/ ‘By golly gosh, you must be cold!’/ ‘No, no!’ she cried. ‘Indeed I’m not!/ I’m feeling devilishly hot!’”