Hidilyn Diaz made our day

By Herbert Vego

IT could have been a boring Monday afternoon. Following a nearly three-hour State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Duterte that was almost a rehash of broken promises made in previous SONAs, something else popped up on the TV screen.

“Flash report,” a TV personality interrupted his fellow hosts in a regular talk show, “our Hidilyn Diaz just won the gold medal in women’s weightlifting competition at the Tokyo Olympics.”

The whole country has been talking about it since then.

To quote a friend’s comment in the social media, “It took a Hidilyn to beat China.”

It was poetic justice for our country that has been bullied by China over its occupation of our territories at the West Philippine Sea.

It was a sort of personal vindication as well for this 30-year-old athlete who had been “red-tagged” in a military matrix that falsely linked her in August 2019 to a communist group allegedly plotting to oust President Duterte.

That red tagging – done by a military official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) — was probably meant to muffle her “noise” over lack of government’s financial support for Filipino athletes competing in foreign lands.

Probably unknown to the leadership of NTF-ELCAC, this “strong woman” from Zamboanga city is a member at the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

The “red tag” could have broken her resolve to bag the gold that had eluded her in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she earned a silver medal for placing second.

But, on the contrary, with the help of generous friends and businessmen, this emboldened her to move on and fight in a more coveted arena, the Tokyo Olympics, where she could compete with a real communist from China. As a result, she beat the Chinese weightlifter, world record holder Liao Quiyun, who settled for silver medal on second place; and Zulfiya Chinshanlo of Kazakhstan, bronze medalist.

Hidilyn’s is the only gold medal earned by the Philippines in 97 years,  since the country first joined the Olympics in Paris in 1924.

I vividly remember two instances in my lifetime when two Filipino boxers fought for gold in different Olympics but lost and settled for silver — Anthony Villanueva in the Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics and Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco at the Atlanta, Georgia 1996 Summer Olympics.

Diaz’ triumph against all odds contrasts sharply with the President’s defeatist attitude in asserting the country’s sovereignty over territories at the West Philippine Sea.

In Monday’s SONA, he misinterpreted anew the public demand to assert our country’s rights in the West Philippine Sea as courting “war” with China.

He asked, “How can we fight China? Do we have the weapons?”

How, indeed, when he has repeatedly praised President Xi Jin Ping as “a good friend”?

I am reminded of a commentary by Manila-based broadcaster Percy Lapid, who likened the situation to “akyat bahay” where a neighbor visits a home and seizes possession of chosen facilities thereat.

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TRUE PUBLIC SERVICE

Concerned citizens do not have to be in politics to be in public service.

We found this out for ourselves last Sunday when we saw ten individuals in Miag-ao, Iloilo calling themselves “Miag-ao Patriots”. They were riding a private vehicle loaded with relief goods for 600 families of eight coastal barangays ravaged by the storm surge.

The damages included wrecked homes, private properties and public infrastructure.

None of the “patriots” were elected politicians. But their volunteerism at a time of need was proof enough that they were doing it out of sheer love and kindness for the less fortunate.

And so it did not come as a surprise when some recipients of their kindness encouraged one of the “patriots” to run for public office

Did you hear that, Doods Moragas?

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NO WAY TO GO BUT FORWARD

THE prolonged pandemic and stormy weather have obviously caused material and financial burdens to MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) in Iloilo City.

But as MORE Power President Roel Castro was telling us, “There is no turning back. We have to go forward as mandated by law.”

Under Republic Act No. 11212, MORE Power is authorized to operate the power distribution utility to the best of its ability.

“To ensure 24-hour service, MORE Power troubleshooters and line teams are mobilized to provide assistance as may be needed,” Castro told this writer.

MORE Power has absorbed 61 experience technical personnel of its predecessor, Panay Electric Company.

For its operation of the city’s power distribution system, MORE Power maintains 71 technical and 52 nontechnical people.

Since Feb. 29, 2020, MORE Power has been managing all five substations and all electric meters, power lines, poles, transformers, installations, and distribution equipment throughout Iloilo City.

The substations are the General Luna Substation on General Luna Street, City Proper; the La Paz Substation in Barangay Baldoza, La Paz; the Jaro Substation in Barangay Tabuc Suba, Jaro District; the Mandurriao Substation in Barangay Bolilao, Mandurriao district; and the Molo Substation in Barangay Avanceña, Molo district.

MORE Power has also activated its standby Customer Care Program (CCP) which is divided into four parts:

* MORE Updates — focused on updating customer information.

* MORE Konek – bringing the application process to the barangay for the convenience of the consumers.

* MORE Korek – replacing all the “ageing” facilities particularly old electric meters to ensure the correct meter reading.

* MORE Kolek – tapping scores of third party collecting/remittance centers for the ease and convenience of consumers in paying their monthly bills.