HISTORIOGRAPHER Jose V. Barrameda, Jr. phoned me Thursday last week to volunteer some clarification regarding our June 8, 2009 editorial entitled “Foundation of Naga.” What the editorial missed, according to him, was the fact that he wrote and caused to publish “Canaman Through the Centuries” as early as in 1992; whereas, historian Danilo M. Gerona wrote his own “Canaman Through Four Centuries” only in 2008, or 16 years later (italics mine).

        As an author who toils hard for his every work, JoeBar said he was intrigued by similarities in the titles of the two books but gamely assured that he can hold off any imputation “for as long as I can still grin and bear it,” or to that effect.

        As the editor-in-chief of this paper (though not necessarily the editorial writer), I am extending our apologies to Mr. Barrameda for the omission. We owe him, too, for the lengthy and well researched article, “The Bicol Martyrs of 1896 revisited,” which we published in two installments in our January 8 and January 15, 2009 issues.

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        An enraged Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez spewed fire and hailstorm protesting Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez’ expose that “about 10 prosecutors handling various cases are involved in the alleged cases for sale at the Department of Justice.”

        Doesn’t Secretary Gonzalez know that what the Ombudsman told us was something that everybody already knows?

        Over a bottle and more beer at Sandra and Tom’s ‘Kambingan’, a Naga-based hotshot lawyer-friend confided to me interesting insights about the controversy. He said that based on his colleagues’ experiences with cases filed and heard in Metro Manila, they could surmise that some 80% of state prosecutors there are horribly corrupt. Thus, 8 of every 10 prosecutors who are comfortably ensconced in their aircon offices in the metropolis should better be known as “fixcals”, a leery reference to their old titles when prosecutors (prostitutors) were once called fiscals.

        But of course, he said, that is not the case in other provincial areas, especially Naga and Bicol where we still have more than a few scrupulous men in the prosecution service. He stressed corrupt local prosecutors, if any, are an exception, rather than the rule, here in our fair city. “Although the weather sometimes changes when cases involve election issues or are tainted with political color,” another friend butted in without elaborating.

        Eat your heart out, therefore, state prosecutors in Manila and elsewhere … Camarines Sur Provincial Prosecutor Agapito Rosales who also acts as resident Ombudsman and Vice President for Luzon of the National Prosecutors League of the Philippines proved he has his balls in the right place when he and Attys. Romy Tayo and Mansueto Saez of the Naga City Prosecution Office belittled and turned down a call for prosecutors throughout the land to wear red armbands and go on mass leave in support of the five justice officials who had been ordered by the President to take an indefinite leave of absence while the bribery controversy in the so-called “Alabang Boys” drug case was being investigated. Prosecutor Saez said the Manila prosecutors should be courageous enough to face or be responsible for what they did, or prove their innocence in the midst of negative public perception hounding the prosecution service, without dragging their innocent peers. “Ano sinda [Manila prosecutors], sineswerte?”

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        Reading today’s headlines, day in and day out, I remember Roger Rosenblatt musing that watching what’s happening in the world today is like watching dogs copulate in a public square: it’s not pleasant, but you can’t take your eyes off them. Classic cases in the present context are the GMA-FG corruption scandals, Joc-Joc Bolante, the lawmakers’ self-serving penchant for Charter Change and ouster move vs. Justice Puno, prosecutors’ bribe-taking over drug cases, Brodett vs. Brodett family feud and washing of their dirty linens in public, corrupt contractors and their conniving DPWH engineers, Pangandaman-de la Paz golf tussle, ad infinitum… Yes, they suck and yet we can hardly do something to avoid these maniacs.

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        By the way, big surprises may spring out in the coming hosting by Naga City of the two-day opening ceremonies of the 2009 Filipino Heritage Festival which the Manila-based co-organizers decided to be held here on April 29-30. While the Office of the City Mayor has already prepared a draft program after ground works, as requested by the mayor, have been started in collaboration with various Naga school-based cultural groups led by Buboy Pesimo, the impressed Makati-based Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc. headed by its president, Armida B. Rufino, and festival executive director Ana Maria ‘Bambi’ Harper, is mulling to bring here the Philippine Ballet Theater for the staging of memorable performance excerpts from either “Atang de la Rama” or “Andres Bonifacio” for the Bicolano audience to watch and appreciate. This is another gem of an event that for the first time will be held here in Bicol. It reminds us of the First International Rondalla Festival that Naga City also successfully hosted only a few years ago.