SunStar editors’ choice: stories with ‘most impact’ and its best-written stories of 2022.

January 10, 2023

SunStar editors’ choice: stories with ‘most impact’ and its best-written stories of 2022.

With most impact

(SunStar photo: Amper Campana)

1. ‘No vax, no entry’ in Cebu City malls

BY PHILIP A. CEROJANO
(First published in SunStar, Jan. 19, 2022)

STARTING Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, only individuals fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), ages 12 and above, will be allowed to enter malls and other indoor venues and establishments in Cebu City.

This, after Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama issued Executive Order 157 called “Puyo Gihapon” to limit the movements of people due to the surge in active coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the city to 3,822 on Jan. 18, from just four last Jan. 1.

However, fully vaccinated minors ages 12 to 17 must be accompanied by a fully vaccinated parent or responsible adult, provided that minors entering indoor venues for purposes of vaccination shall be allowed.

Minors aged 11 and below are strictly prohibited from entering the malls even if they tag along with their parents or guardians.

People are now required to present their vaccination cards before entering the malls, especially in downtown Cebu City, where malls have started posting “no vaccine, no entry” notices in their vicinity.

Rama encouraged unvaccinated individuals to get their jabs against Covid-19 now since this is offered for free.

Rama said those vaccinated will have the chance to win prizes like a house and lot, a brand- new car, appliances and gift certificates.

The curfew hours have also been tightened to from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. for adults and 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. for minors since Jan. 14 when the city was placed under Alert Level 3 status.

Regarding the lack of supply of influenza medicines, the Task Force Puyo under Section 10 of the executive order has been tasked to monitor the prices of drugs, especially influenza medicines, and basic commodities that are needed most in this time of pandemic.

Under Section 13 of the executive order, public and private hospitals are “enjoined to admit severe and critical Covid-19 cases only.”

The 30 percent indoor capacity and 50 percent outdoor capacity should also be observed in business establishments.

Under the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, only vaccinated individuals have no movement restrictions.

Due to the rise in Covid-19 cases, the 70 percent maximum passenger capacity is also required in public utility jeepneys to avoid the spread of the virus.

The number of fully vaccinated individuals in Cebu City has reached 540,136, while 655,244 have received at least a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Cebu City has a population of 964,169, according to the 2020 census of the Philippine Statistics Authority.

With the surge in Covid-19 cases in the city in the new year, the utilitization rate of Covid-19 allocated beds in public hospitals in the city was already at the high risk level while the utilization rate in private hospitals was still normal as of Wednesday, Jan. 19.

Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said public hospitals had already reached 80.87 percent occupancy while the private hospital occupancy rate was 41.67 percent.

The four public hospitals in the city have allocated more or less a total of 410 beds for Covid-19 cases, while the 11 private hospitals have allocated 800 beds.

Not all of those admitted in Cebu City hospitals are residents of the city.

Above 40% positivity

On Jan. 18, Cebu City recorded 660 new Covid-19 cases for a daily positivity rate (DPR) of 42.86 percent since 1,540 individuals had been swabbed.

Based on the EOC list, 20 of the 660 people who tested positive were under 11 years old, while five were above 90 years old.

This is the third day in which Cebu City recorded a more than 40 percent DPR this month.

Cebu City now has 3,822 active cases, with residents in 73 of the city’s 80 barangays infected.

The barangays with three-digit active cases are Guadalupe, 358; Lahug, 226; Apas, 193; Capitol Site, 150; Tisa, 143; Mabolo, 142; Talamban, 129; Camputhaw, 128; Labangon, 126; Sambag 2, 107; and Punta Princesa, 102.

535 Omicron cases

The Philippines detected 492 more cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2, pushing the total tally of the strain to 535, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday, Jan. 19.

Of the 492 cases, two have died, three are still active, 467 have been tagged as recovered, and 20 are still being verified by the agency.

The DOH said 332 of the 492 cases were local or the patients have no travel history, while 160 were returning overseas Filipinos.

It said 227 of the local cases were from Metro Manila; 76 in Calabarzon; 11 in Central Luzon; five in Central Visayas; two each in Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Davao Region, Soccsksargen and the Cordillera Administrative Region; and one each in Ilocos, Mimaropa, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Last Tuesday, the DOH in Central Visayas said there were 22 cases of the Omicron variant in the region. It’s unclear if the five new ones reported are among the 22 cases reported earlier in the region. (TPT / CTL)

(Photo from Licas News)

2. Nuns with Cory during Edsa slam ‘malicious’ movie trailer

BY JUSTIN K. VESTIL
(First published in SunStar, Aug. 2, 2022)

MEMBERS of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites based in Mabolo, Cebu City have condemned the new trailer of the controversial film “Maid in Malacañang” that showed a group of nuns playing mahjong with the late President Corazon Aquino right after the Edsa People Power Revolution broke out.

“God forgive them. That’s totally fake news,” an official of the order told SunStar Cebu late Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, which was also the 13th death anniversary of Aquino.

The official, who declined to be named, was one of the nuns who had sheltered Aquino in Cebu on Feb. 22, 1986, the day the Edsa Revolution that ended the Marcos dictatorship broke out in Manila.

The director of the controversial film, however, defended the depiction, saying there was nothing wrong with the recent trailer showing Aquino playing mahjong with nuns.

In a statement posted on his official Facebook page VinCentiments on Tuesday, Aug. 2, “Maid in Malacañang” director and writer Darryl Yap said the scene where Aquino and the nuns play mahjong was meant to show them just passing time and having a game between friends.

“Wala rin pong masama sa ‘Mahjong’ pampalipas-oras man o pangmagkakaiibigang laro,” Yap said.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia did not agree.

In a statement late Tuesday, Garcia said: “I stand with the Carmelite nuns of Cebu. And I condemn any malicious attempt to malign them.”

Yap’s statement came after the sisters of the Carmelite Monastery in Cebu sent a statement to Cebu media on Tuesday morning, Aug. 2, decrying a scene of the controversial movie as “historically distorted” and made without consulting them.

Sr. Mary Melanin Costillas, prioress of the Carmelite Monastery in Mabolo, said that while the habits of the nuns shown in the movie were not similar to their habits, the events shown in the trailer were an “allusion” to Aquino’s encounter with the Carmelite sisters on the night of Feb. 22, 1986.

“The nuns are not wearing our brown religious habit. But if these pictures are portraying the events of February 1986, then the allusion to the Carmelite Order in Cebu is too obvious for anyone not to see,” Costillas said.

She added that no one from the movie’s production approached them to gather information on what really happened.

Costillas said many of the nuns who were with Aquino at the time were still alive and actively serving the monastery, including Sr. Mary Aimee Ataviado, who was the superior at the time of the revolution.

Malicious, reprehensible

Costillas called the scene in the movie trailer where the nuns play mahjong with Aquino “malicious” and a “reprehensible attempt” to distort history.

“The truth was that we were then praying, fasting and making other forms of sacrifices for peace in this country and for the people’s choice to prevail. While in our prayer, we were constantly in fear that the military would come to know of the whereabouts of Ms. Cory Aquino and would soon be knocking at the monastery’s door. We knew the dangers of allowing Ms. Cory Aquino to hide in the monastery. But we also prayerfully discerned that the risk was worth it, as our contribution to put an end to a dictatorial regime. Indeed, we were ready to defend her at all costs,” Costillas said.

Costillas said the pictures of Aquino and the nuns playing mahjong trivialized their contribution in restoring democracy in the country, adding that the Cebuano faithful have sought their help to pray for them.

“Over more than seven decades, Cebuanos have asked us to pray for their intentions. With the grace of God, we take this vocation to pray for and with the people in all seriousness. But the pictures would imply that while the country’s fate was in the balance, we mindlessly were simply playing games. Thus, if these pictures were taken as authentic representation of what really happened, they would put into doubt the trust the people have placed in us,” she added.

“Lastly, we are praying for the unity of Filipinos. But this unity can only be built on truth and not on historical distortion,” Costillas added.

Aquino, a victim of electoral fraud in the Feb. 7, 1986 snap election called by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was in Cebu to call for civil disobedience through the boycott of companies owned by Marcos cronies.

When then Assemblyman Antonio Cuenco got wind that Marcos had issued a shoot-to-kill order against Aquino, he and his wife Nancy hid the future president in the Carmelite Monastery in Barangay Mabolo. Aquino left the monastery around 11 a.m. the next day to fly to Manila.

Not necessarily accurate

Msgr. Joseph Tan, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Cebu, urged the public not to treat the movie as though it was real.

Tan, who was requested by the Carmelite nuns to speak on their behalf, told reporters at noon Tuesday, that the film “is clearly a fictional rendition of history. We called it historical fictionalization.”

“It may be based on the events that took place in history, but there is always a certain amount of poetic license, so much so that the details may not necessarily be as accurate as actually unfolded in history,” Tan said.

“Just take this movie for what it is, as a form of entertainment and realize its genre is one of theater of the historical fictionalization of the events of history,” he added.

Why consult?

Director Yap, in his statement, urged the nuns to watch the film.

In a photo that served as a continuation of the statement, Yap said there was no need for them to consult the nuns.

“Tungkol po sa point ni Monsignor (Joseph) Tan at ng Carmelite nuns, na hindi ko po sila kinunsulta sa eksena — hindi ko po kasi naisip na kailangan,” Yap said.

“Gaya po ng sinabi nila, hindi naman po nakabrown, at walang binanggit na ‘Huy mga Carmelite Sisters, ano na?!’” he added. (Like they said, the nuns were not wearing brown.)

Yap added that he would rather consult “Valak,” the demon nun known for its appearance in the horror movie “The Conjuring,” if he wanted to get points on how to make his film.

“Hihingi ako ng advise kay Valak, kung paano, kailan at kanino siya kumunsulta,” Yap added.

“Maid in Malacañang” tells the story of the late dictator’s last three days in power before he was deposed during the People Power Revolution.

(SunStar photo: Amper Campana)

3. Capitol recovers Centcom lots; 5,000 families face loss of homes

BY JUSTIN K. VESTIL & ARVIE N. VELOSO
(First published in SunStar, Dec. 3, 2022)

CLOSE to 5,000 households living in 10 sitios in Barangay Apas, Cebu City could lose their homes after officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) turned over the titles of 17.5 hectares of land currently occupied by the AFP’s Visayas Command (Viscom) headquarters in Camp Lapu-Lapu to the Cebu Provincial Government.

Apas Barangay Captain Virgil Cabigon told SunStar Cebu on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, that aside from the 5,000 households, which included his own, even their barangay hall and three public schools had been affected by the development.

Cabigon identified the affected sitios as Central Apas, Sto. Niño, Mahayahay, Plaza, Fatima, Upper and Lower Panabang; Upper and Lower Calvary and Rotunda.

The affected sitios are situated in around 15 hectares of the disputed properties, he said.

Cabigon said the three schools affected were the Apas National High School, Apas Elementary School and the Camp Lapu-Lapu Elementary School.

On Monday, the Cebu Provincial Government finally recovered at least 17.5 hectares of the 80 hectares of land occupied by Camp Lapu-Lapu after a dispute of almost 30 years.

DND Secretary Jose Faustino Jr. turned over to Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia the titles of 17.5 hectares covering an initial 16 parcels of lots in a ceremony at the Capitol Social Hall on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022.

The full 80 hectares involve a total of 47 parcels of land.

Violation of agreement

The Cebu Provincial Government, under then governor Jose Briones, had donated the 80-hectare property to the then 3rd Military Area on Oct. 12, 1959, on condition that it be used for military purposes only. It later became Camp Lapu-Lapu, the headquarters of the AFP Central Command (Centcom), later renamed the Visayas Command (Viscom).

But it was found out that only 14 portions of the lots were used for military purposes, while the remaining areas were used as a golf driving range and residential sites for military personnel and informal settlers, among other uses. This prompted then governor Pablo Garcia, the current governor’s father, to rescind the donation in 1995.

In her first term as governor in 2005, Garcia filed an ejectment case against Centcom to reclaim the lots.

In 2007, the Province sought intervention from the Executive Branch by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with then defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

According to the MOU, Centcom was to return the initial 16 lots to the Capitol while the Provincial Government would allocate funds for the construction of the facilities and infrastructure for the military as well as the DND at their new location in northern Cebu.

However, the Centcom objected and elevated the case to the court. The Supreme Court affirmed Capitol’s ownership of the lots in 2019.

The Provincial Government expects to recover the remaining 31 parcels of land once Camp Lapu-Lapu leaves the area and fully relocates to northern Cebu.

Not consulted

However, Barangay Captain Cabigon claimed that neither the AFP nor the DND consulted them before turning the lots over to the Province.

Cabigon said he and other residents in his barangay aimed to contest the Province’s claim, adding that households situated in two lots in Sitio Central Apas, namely Lots 950 and 1035, were already subjected to a compromise agreement signed by then DND secretary Delfin Lorenzana, the Cebu City Government and the Cebu Provincial Government back in 2019.

The compromise agreement was made after a review of the status and implementation of Presidential Proclamation (PP) 409.

PP 409, signed on June 23, 2003, was issued by then President (now Pampanga congresswoman) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare a part of the area of what is now AFP Viscom situated in Barangay Apas as a socialized housing site.

Arroyo was even in Cebu to attend the House Oversight Committee on Housing and Urban Development on Feb. 18, 2019, when the compromise agreement was signed by the three parties.

After the issuance of PP 409, the residents in the barangay were just waiting for the DND to give up its claim on the lots after the Cebu City Government and the Cebu Provincial Government signed the compromise agreement that would allow them to buy the properties that are spread across five sitios.

Four administrations

“This issue has spanned decades and the administration of four presidents — from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when we first signed the memorandum of understanding, to President Noynoy Aquino, and then to President Rodrigo Duterte,” said Garcia on Monday. “And finally, because I was able to speak to President (Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.) as regards this issue, finally we are seeing the light of a long and arduous, dark tunnel.”

The turnover ceremony was also attended by AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro, AFP Viscom Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Dauz, Vice Gov. Hilario Davide III and members of the Provincial Board, according to Capitol online news portal Sugbo News.

Faustino expressed appreciation for the development as the Capitol will also extend financial support for the construction of facilities that will be used by the military at their new site in northern Cebu.

“Our eagerness to work with the provincial government is founded not only on respect, or for the rule of law, or compliance with the decision of the Supreme Court, but also on our fervent desire to cultivate the solid relationship for the benefit of everyone,” Faustino said.

Transfer to Bohol?

However, Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado also announced over the weekend that the officials of AFP Visayas Command had visited him recently and expressed interest in transferring to Bohol, which he welcomed.

“Nalipay kita sa maong kalamboan, ug andam ang Kagamhanang Probinsiyal nga muabag sa tibuok armadong kusog (We are happy about the development, and the provincial government is ready to support the Armed Forces),” Aumentado said on his Facebook page on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (TPT)