Cenizal nominated for National Artist

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Monday, May 5, 2008

Google-search “Josefino Cenizal” and onscreen will pop up 717 entries, a third of which have nothing to do with the musician. Type in “Hindi Kita Malimot,” a love song he wrote in 1939, and 8,500 articles will appear, including reviews and fond adaptations as concert or ad titles. “Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit” has 11,200 items, showing that the Christmas carol he composed (lyrics by Levi Celerio) is more known than him. But Cenizal doesn’t mind. Weightier for this prolific songwriter-arranger is that Filipinos enjoy the songs as their own. For his dozens of creations that reflect the Filipino character apart from entertaining the Pinoy soul, the Film Academy has nominated him for National Artist.

Cenizal’s works span seven decades. He began arranging and composing music for the movies at age 23 in 1937. He has served as pianist and music teacher, bandleader and musical director. To this day, at age 94, he is active in the music and movie industries, and sits as trustee in the Mowelfund (Movie Workers Welfare Fund), Filscap (Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the United Film Music Directors of the Philippines.

Cenizal best describes his music: “romantic, folksy.” Most are love songs, like “Pagsamo”, “Bakit Mo Nilimot”, “Agam-Agam”, “Wala Kang Kapantay”, “Silayan Mo Ako”, and “Tanging Pag-Ibig”. His balitaw is catchy, as in “Ang Paglalaba”, “Masaganang Kabukiran”, and “Amihan sa Bukid”. Daughter Moppet, herself into music and the arts, categorizes Cenizal’s works into two periods: the early movie era from 1936 to the 1960s, and the “modern ’60s” to the present. The first consists mostly of classic Filipino love songs, usually themes for the early movies. It was during the period that he wrote the music for “Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit”, which Celerio converted into a Christmas song. Cenizal’s first stint was making up the music for Malayan Films’ Nasaan Ka, Irog. Two years later he accepted the lead role with Raymunda Guidote in the movie Rosa Birhen, for which he wrote the theme “Hindi Kita Malimot”. Three directors took turns handling the shootings, but Cenizal ended up seeing to its completion and arranging the scoring. The dimpled, dashing young Cenizal became a star; his song, an instant hit.

The second period mirrors the pop beat and themes of the new era. This includes unpublished inspirations for Cenizal’s wife Olivia, the cinema star of the ’50s-’60s (recently deceased), and Moppet. He also wrote marches for the Rotary and Lions Clubs and top universities, and hymns to St. Paul and the St. Augustine Church in his hometown of Tanza, Cavite. Cenizal rehashed two earlier movie themes into Christmas tunes, “Simbang Gabi” and “Noche Buena”, favorites of the Mabuhay Singers in the ’70s and ’80s. Going strong in 1993, he wrote new pieces and jazzed up old ones into two albums produced by Dr. Demetrio Quirino. Among the interpreters of his songs were Olivia, Ruth Abao Espinosa, and Ayen Munji. Then there was “Nasaan Ka”, another carol in 1995, rendered by Diomedes Maturan. It was distinctive of the day, of two lovers separated at Yuletide by overseas work like millions of Filipinos.

Cenizal still composes on the piano. Sit him by his ebonies and ivories a few inspired moments with his grandchildren, and he’ll come up with ditties about Filipino life and times. Cenizal’s is a national treasure; his songs form part of cultural heritage.

* * *

Caloocan City Rep. Oscar Malapitan retorts to my piece last Friday:

“I will let justice take its course in the complaint against my son and others for the incident involving two minors. But info I received indicates that the minors did not complain of rape. They were apprehended for two curfew violations on two separate dates, but both were not touched. Then, a political rival of my son induced them to file a rape complaint. The father of one of the complainants gave that info to my son and sought help. The rival offered him (father) money to pursue an inexistent case. Even before any complaint reached the police, the Public Information Office of my political rival fed the news to tabloids on Apr. 25. The complaint with the police was lodged only on Apr. 26. That my rival has blown the incident out of proportion is plain from the fact that it was entered into the police blotter twice, the first at 12:38 a.m. and another at 8 p.m. of the same day. A formal complaint was lodged with the prosecutor only Apr. 30. I did not name my rival but surprisingly he made statements refuting his complicity thereof.”

* * *

It would be interesting to read what that father has to say, in case he swears by the alleged bribe for his young daughter to file a rape case. Until then, the word of the two girls stand, along with the medical report on their sexual injuries. Late complaining is not fraud. Meantime, the congressman’s son, brother and co-accused are presumed innocent.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

‘Sorry, napatay kita’

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, May 5, 2008

SORRY na lang ba? ‘Yan ang mapait na tanong ng mga kaanak nina Andy Natividad, 50, at Vic Constantino, 30, na naipit at napatay sa bakbakan ng pulis at magnanakaw sa Maynila nu’ng Abril 23.

Nang mapatay ng pulis ang pitong lalaki at makasugat ng ika-walo, inanunsiyo agad nila na Waray-Waray gangsters ang mga nakasagupa sa Del Pan Bridge. Binigyan agad ng citations ang 23 officers. Pero di maitago ang katotohanan. Si Andy ay beer sales exec at si Vic ay company driver. Relyebo lang si Vic sa maysakit na regular driver ni Andy. Birthday niya nu’n kaya nag-blowout si Andy ng tanghalian. Pabalik na sila sa opisina nang mapagitna sa sagupaan ng pulis at lima lang, hindi walo, na holdup suspects. ‘Yung nasugatan ay tindero na naipit lang din sa crossfire.

Nag-sorry ang pamunuan ng pulisya sa dalawang angkan. Pero ikinaila agad nila na pulis ang nakapatay kina Andy at Vic. Kesyo raw binaril sila ng isang holdaper sa tangkang agawin ang pickup nila. Kesyo raw lumabas sila sa sasakyan para umiwas sa putukan, at binaril ng mga litong holdaper. Pero sa official report, sa likurang upuan natagpuan ang dalawang duguan; buo ang mga pinto’t bin-tana ng pickup bagamat flat ang isang gulong. Nagko­kontrahan ang mga ulat ng pulisya. Kaya sabi ni Carla na anak ni Andy, namatay ang ama niya sa kata­ngahan ng pulis.

Nakapagtataka pa ang autopsy report. Basag daw ang bungo ni Andy. Pumasok daw ang bala sa taas ng noo at, sa pababang trajectory, lumabas sa batok. Anang pinsang surgeon na si Dr. Dubarry Sioco, medico-legal expert, ibig sabihin nito ay nakaluhod o dapa si Andy nang barilin. Kaso walang tumatayong saksi sa katotohanan, aniya.

Lumabas pa ang katawa-tawang paraffin test sa mga pulis: Si Officer Harris lang, 23 ang positive sa powder burns. Imposible namang siya lang ang nakipagbarilan sa limang holdaper, pumatay kina Andy at Vic, at sumugat sa isa pang bystander. Ibig sabihin lang nito ay palpak ang paraffin test ng pulisya.

Pero sa bala malalaman ang katotohanan. Bakit ba hanggang ngayon ay wala pang ballistics matching ng mga balang nakuha sa katawan nina Andy at Vic at bore ng gun barrels ng mga pulis? May itinatago ba sila?

Did robbers really kill two civilians?

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Friday, May 2, 2008

Manila cops killed seven men in a shootout last week. Before the smoke could clear the 23 officers thumped their chests, declaring the wipeout of the dreaded Waray-Waray holdup gang. Their chief promptly handed out citations.

Then the truth surfaced. Two of the fatalities were innocent civilians. Sales exec Andy Natividad, 50, and driver Vic Constantino, 30, happened to be at the wrong place, wrong time. Constantino was only pinch-hitting for Natividad’s sick regular driver. And since it was his birthday, Natividad treated him to lunch. The duo was motoring back to work when, on a bridge in Binondo district, cops and robbers in front and behind them shot it out.

Reports are hazy. The first police narrative was that one of the goons shot Natividad and Constantino while trying to commandeer their pickup. Another official account, supposedly from an eyewitness, was that the two had dashed out of the vehicle to escape the crossfire but were shot by the confused robbers. Strangely, the final version was that the bloodied bodies of the two were found slumped in the pickup’s rear seat. The doors and windows were intact with no signs of being forced open; one tire was deflated. The police then supposedly rushed them to the hospital where they both expired.

The police brass said sorry to the families of Natividad and Constantino for calling them gangsters. Wreaths were sent, but Natividad’s mom refused to accept. The victims’ kin doubt the police story, and have good reason to.

Too often has the public been feted to police exploits that later turn out to be bungles. The “neutralizing” of this or that gang with the slaying of seven, eight or nine armed men packed in a five-seater sedan has become routine. Only when kin cry out would cops admit having killed innocent by-standers in the crossfire. In the Natividad-Constantino case, the cops instantly bragged having wasted seven goons and wounding an eighth. But that wounded man, Elizardo Carales, 33, happens to be a market vendor. In short, there were logically only five probable thugs in their car — not eight as the trigger-happy cops made it look like. Natividad’s daughter Carla was reported as saying her dad died from police incompetence.

Then there’s the autopsy report. Natividad’s skull supposedly was crushed. A bullet had entered the top of the forehead and, in downward trajectory, exited the nape. Natividad’s surgeon-cousin Dubarry Sioco, who appears in court as expert medico-legal witness, tries to reconcile that with the three police accounts. “I can’t imagine how Andy was hit,” Sioco says. “He was five feet-eight inches tall. For him to sustain such injury, he must have been kneeling or lying on the ground.” The conflicting police versions do not help any, and could have been written to throw off prying kin like Sioco. “I’m not playing CSI investigator, but common sense tells us there is something sinister in the manner he was shot,” he laments. “Unfortunately there is no witness.”

But the bullets should tell the story. Where are the slugs that killed Natividad and Constantino? Why have these not been subjected to ballistics matching with the firearms of the 23 cops and five gangsters? Such lapses make the public suspect police foul-up.

* * *

Three docs at the Philippine General Hospital wrote to confirm what I wrote Monday — that emergency and inpatients do share one remaining x-ray machine. Wrote one, while requesting anonymity for fear of retribution:

“He listed down 12 functional units. What he didn’t say is that, even with the bucky and fluoroscopy at the Outpatient Department, right now no outpatient x-ray can be taken. He also didn’t say that the portable units in the various ICUs may only be used for ICU patients. He didn’t mention that the two image intensifiers (C-arm) in the OR may only be used inside the OR for surgical procedures. Images are seen only on video monitors, like real-time x-rays. We don’t have the facilities to print out those images. And we have yet to see the digital machines used. So that leaves only the one Central Block portable machine, which can only be used for ER patients. As of Thursday, only two or three intubated ER patients could be accommodated. Those with ‘run-of-the-mill’ open fracture must have their x-rays taken elsewhere.

“PGH direly need funds. But whatever little money we have is being spent on things like a park-cum-Oblation now under construction in front of the hospital, an electronic billboard on the corner of Taft and Padre Faura Streets, a wall-high engraving of names of donors near the elevators, and a mural that includes the faces of ... none of which helps our patients.”

* * *

My piece on PGH’s shortage of hospital and medical equipment also elicited two offers of help. Ed Artis and Vincent Ricasio wrote separately to ask whom they should talk with at the premier state hospital to donate x-rays and more.

* * *

E-mail me at jariusbondoc@workmail.com and I will forward.

Bakit palagi tayong kapos sa bigas?

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, May 2, 2008

TAON-taon iisa ang gimik tuwing sasapit ang Labor Day. Nagyayabang ang Malacañang na kesyo mahusay nitong napanatiling mababa ang langis at pagkain, kaya hindi na kuno kailangan ng taas-sahod. Pero ngayon iba ang tono ng Palasyo. Sa isang factory visit nu’ng nakaraang linggo, inutos ni Gloria Arroyo ang 10% umento sa gobyerno, at nagsabing sana ay taasan ang minimum wages sa pribadong sektor. Binantaan din ng mga kaalyado niya sa Kongreso na gigibain ang regional wage boards kung hindi magtataas ng mga sahod sa unang bahagi ng Mayo.

Ibig sabihin lang nito, nagapi ng inflation ang Arroyo admin, pero hindi nila ito aaminin. Isisisi nila sa mga sitwasyong panlabas ang pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina, bigas at karne: OPEC cartel, pagkasiba ng India at China sa karne’t isda, at global warming na sumira sa ani. Nagpasiklab nga ang Malacañang araw-araw na kunwari’y tumutulong sa mahihirap, para pagtakpan ang tunay na sanhi ng kakulangan ngayon sa bigas: ang mga pagkakamali at pagnanakaw.

Taun-taon nitong nakaraang pitong taon, kapos nang 2 milyong tonelada ang aning bigas ng Pilipinas. Kung matino ang gobyerno, dapat nagbuhos noon pa ng pondo sa patubig, pataba, bilaran, kalsada, palengke at pautang sa magsasaka. Pero mas ginusto ng Malacañang mag-import. Kasi mabilis ang kickback doon — mula sa pagbili mismo ng bigas, at pati sa pag-upa ng barko at pag-supply ng sako.

Ngayon lang nagkukumahog ang Malacañang na magbuhos ng P48 bilyon para sa dagdag-ani. Hinihikayat ang mga magsasaka na mag-pangatlong tanim na may pautang para sa hybrid na binhi. Pasiklab lang!

Malaki nang salapi ang winaldas ng Malacañang sa kalokohan sa pananim. Nu’ng 2004, namahagi ng P780 milyon ang Malacañang point man Jocjoc Bolante para kunwari sa pataba, pero pangkampanya lang ni Arroyo. Kasabay nu’n, kinurakot ng Quedancor sa ilalim ng Office of the President ang P1.7 bilyon na para dapat sa hog dispersal. Kung tutuusin, kinulimbat ng admin ang para sa pananim, kaya tayo naghihirap ngayon.