Desiderio Defria
Opinion: Balaring and a Trip to Binalbagan
If not for my daughter, I did not know that there’s such a place in Negros
known as Balaring.
I wrote the other day about Campuestohan, where my daughter had discovered in the internet while she was in New York. If not for her to treat the whole family where most of the time we were in three full packed SUV, we would not know much about the place. I’m not fond to going to places if not necessary, being contented where God post me. Believe me, I haven’t been to some famous places like Boracay. I believe I have no business to be there and despite that I was asked not only once but many times by children and relatives who would foot the bill, Boracay doesn’t excite me.
That’s what makes me an ignoramus insofar as many places in Negros but this time I cannot say no to all members of the family that includes brothers, in-laws, sister, nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren, so I have to play pussy so as not to spoil the fun of everyone. So we ended up in Campuestohan and like a whole barangay have to get ourselves to add to the crowd of coffee places like Kuppa in Bacolod and at one evening at Balaring in Silay City. We found the place very suitable to serve our dinner at a reasonable cost. We cannot refuse our only daughter who comes to visit us on irregular basis due to our entire situation. This is May and since its vacation time, all students are around and as long as there is somebody who would shoulder the expenses of the fun, we have no reason to refuse. So like one barangay we landed at Balaring and I found the place very suitable for a big family like us. Since it’s already night time, we found the place with no customers. There were but a few on some vehicles but then they were not an enormous crowd unlike us.
Opinion: Time Out
My family was busy last week. Our only daughter who lives in New York was on
her vacation and asked the whole immediate family time for bonding before she
leaves.
She was busy here and there as if catching for every minute she had so that she can cover the best she has to cover bonding with the family.
Partially she asked some of us to be with her, and sometimes the whole family. She wanted to see Balay nga bato of Mr. Rusty Biñas at Marapara Heights in Bata Bacolod, but due the fact that to she has to be in Iloilo she failed to see it. Only Norma and I were able to see it with the able help of Junjun Mojica of the Green Alert. Since Rusty is a U.N. employee, he and his family were not there as the staff headed by Art opened the house for us to appreciate it. And we are very much impressed. Mr. Biñas wanted to simulate nature in his way of living. It is one place in Bacolod Bacoleños must or ought to see. Only that it is a private place unlike the now famous The Ruin in Talisay. I think I am fortunate enough to first put it in print as I have not come across Rusty’s Balay nga bato in the local newspaper. If you haven’t seen it, it’s high time you should know what some of us Negrenses are doing without blowing our horns.
We also went to see the cartwheel chapel of Msgr. Gaston at Manapla. Although the place is a regular destination of my wife and her Cedar College students during their yearly trip, it’s the first time for me and my daughter and we are impressed.
Local News: 68 PCOS Machines, 68 CF Cards in Negros Found ‘Defective’
Sixty-eight defective Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS )
machines were monitored by the Commission on Elections in Negros Occidental during the national and local elections yesterday.
Aside from the defective PCOS machines, four Compact Flash (CF) cards and 64 back-up CF cards also have defects, based on the report of Provincial PCOS supervisor Jose Leo Redoblo last night.
Of the 68 problematic PCOS machines, 14 are in San Carlos City, eight in Calatrava and seven each in Ilog and Silay. There are three defective PCOS machines each in Escalante, E.B. Magalona and Cauayan; two each in Don Salvador Benedicto, Toboso, Isabela, and Himamaylan City; and one each in Manapla, Sagay City, Talisay, Victorias, Pulupandan, San Enrique, Hinigaran, La Castellana, and Candoni.
Opinion: Lone Poster on the Fence
Only few days to election time, I discovered one lone poster being on the
fence of our place at Gustilo St., Cadiz City.
It’s the poster of candidate for senator Tingting Cojuangco. She is the aunt of the President. What puzzled me is that she is with the UNA, a party more affiliated to Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay.
Tingting Cojuangco was my goddess of beauty during my younger years, she being known as a socialite, wife of Peping Cojuangco, also a kingmaker.
I do not know how true, but it’s being said some relatives of PNoy engineered the election of Jojo Binay, thwarting aside Mar Roxas. That’s the reason why Roxas did not make it as Vice Pres.
Opinion: Critical Comments Of Former La Carlota City Mayor
I heard over the radio last week the critical comments of former Mayor
Juancho Aguirre of La Carlota City on LTO’s smoke test.
He was clamoring on the long lines of vehicles undergoing smoke test. He said it is wasting the time of many drivers who could have done something useful instead of waiting for a long time to have a smoke test of their vehicles.
Mayor Aguirre is not only clamoring but even gave solutions by opening more testing areas in the towns and cities in Negros.
Of course it is a sensible suggestion, but corruption in this country can’t afford to do that. First, smoke testing licenses are awarded to favorites who can give kick backs. Another as it happened in Cadiz, some smoke testers are so corrupt that in one instance one did not let my nephew’s vehicle’s test pass but when given a P100 by miracle, the vehicle tested did pass without even having a second test.
Opinion: The Burial Of My Nephew Who Was Drowned
My nephew Jonel Palotes who was drowned at Northland Hotel & Resort located
at the town of Manapla was buried at Barangay Mabini Public Cemetery on April 27
at 3 o’clock.
His nurse sister who works in Saudi Arabia fly hastily to attend on his burial. My only daughter who is now a New Yorker left also her job hastily to attend to her cousin’s burial. My son who now resides in Manila also did come where due to job’s busy conditions was not able to attend to his grandmother’s burial a month ago. But they all find time to attend to Jonel’s burial.
Friends and relatives came over despite that we did not let them know of the tragic death of my nephew due to a swimming pool that is not well attended. According to my friend Geov Agustin, whose business he had specialize from the States is pool, a 12 feet deep pool is unusual. It was Atty. Jerry Basiao who told me about my friend’s Geov observation.
What is the issue here is that the life of my nephew was snapped when it was not expected as he was still young at age 28, according to one of the priests who solemnized the mass of Jonel. He is also from Manapla only = kilometer away from the Northland. His name is Fr. Vic Secondes. He said he could have blessed Jonel while lying at a funeral parlor in Manapla.
Opinion: Requested Friends and Relatives to Help Monico
During the wake of my mother and nephew, many friends and relatives came from
Bacolod to sympathize with us.
Since we are not living in Bacolod anymore, I asked friends and relatives from Bacolod to help Monico and his team get elected if they are not committed personally with any candidates.
Although I only met Monico Puentevella twice since I arrived from New York, yet Bacolod politics is of interest to me. That meeting was 10 years by now, but I like Monico as a friend. He doesn’t change concerning our friendship.
Despite I am living now in Cadiz, yet like other Negrenses, we are affected by what’s happening in Bacolod. We all end up in Bacolod somehow.
Opinion: Negros Occ. is Stable Under Gov. Marañon
Only a few weeks from now is election time. At the time of this writing, the
heat is on with Gov. Freddie Marañon and Vice Gov. Lim-ao Alvarez.
Many in Cadiz are asking me why I stick with Gov. Marañon when we are on different planet concerning our stand on coal fired plant in Cadiz.
That’s my only problem with Gov. Marañon and the pro-coal fired plant politicians, but I know Gov. Marañon is a reasonable man and would not shoot his foot by continuing the project. In fact, the latest I heard in coffee shops is that the pro-coal are now changing to solar.
Opinion: Tragic Death of a Nephew
Jonel Palotes is my nephew. He was the eldest son of my only sister.
On April 18 he went to Manapla to follow up the correction on his birth certificate where the spelling of the word Palotes, the e becomes i. He was working his way on a working contract in Dubai, and the correction on the wrong entry on his surname was necessary.
At around 11 a.m., his father Rey kept on texting Jonel but there was no answer. The father who just arrived a month ago from Saudi Arabia and is now on retirement even got agitated that Jonel does not answer.
Opinion: Bacoleños Should Redeem their Dignity
Come election day, it’s high time for Bacoleños to redeem their dignity by
electing officials of high moral quality and are not carpetbaggers, so-called.
When some politicians in the past play dirty by dawdling on Bacoleños’ money to buy votes and some critters enjoy it, it ended what good Bacoleños had founded.
They had elected tainted leaders with image of dirty politics. Some sell Bacoleños to what will soothe them. Some who started thinking they can do better for Bacolod ended up fleshing the Bacoleños by entering into transactions that can give them percentage but ended up for Bacoleños to pay the bill up to the third generation, while some politicians profit.
These politicians said they are for the people, but it is only them getting richer, while the hoi polloi who enjoy selling their votes hold an empty bag. Some of them will stay on the same condition forever, and their characters tainted.
