ANTONIO V. FIGUEROA FAST BACKWARD

government’s running feud with the Moros had nothing to do with religion but more about territory. This was not the case during the US rule when some institutions, like the Davao Mission Hospital, were owned and managed by the Protestant missionaries.

Although the American administration, in respect of the US Constitution, promoted the bill of rights in the district, the freedom of religion at times created conflict when the priests, in the exercise of their pastoral duties, visited the hospital, puericulture center, or infirmary, and administer the sacraments exclusive to the Catholic faith.

In a 1911 incident, Fr. Juan Rebull, the Jesuit parish priest of San Pedro Church, had dis-cord with the American pastor, a member of the Congregationalists assigned

Quarrels Between Religions

to preach Prot-estantism in Mindanao, concerning the burial of a man who died after receiving all the Cath-olic sacraments. The minister wanted the dead interred as a Protestant but the cleric opposed it.

To resolve the dispute, Fr. Rebull filed an urgent written complaint before the justice of the peace but both parties were not satisfied with the ruling because the judge was indecisive.

In the end, according to a report in the Cartas Edificantes de la Provincia de Aragon, “the corpse was buried at the expense of the municipality of Davao, without no religious pomp, neither Catholic nor Protestant, more clearly, like a dog.”

Even inside the church, during sacramental rites, the undercurrents between the two Christian faiths were palpable. A 1916 Jesuit ac- count says a lot about the sectarian dishar-mony:

‘The rector, accompanied by a commission of the three intern brigades with cardinal hab-its, left the sacristy to administer the Holy Sacrament. The boy who was not more than ten years old, blond as an angel and dressed in a white suit, accompanied by his godparents, ad-vanced towards the altar and kneeling before the Miraculous Virgin, with a firm and vibrant voice read the solemn abjuration of the errors of the Protestant sect. After he finished his reci-tation, the rector poured on the head of the blessed child the regenerating water of baptism.’

Perhaps the more telling issue that divides the two sects is Freemasonry. Vatican, even today, views the practices of the fraternal craft as contrary to the teach- ings of Catholicism. This was felt in Davao region over a century ago when the Freemasons, chiefly Protestants in the US military, needed a graveyard for themselves and their deceased loved ones.

To address the void, David Jacobson, a Jewish American serviceman who had properties in Davao City and owned a plantation in Pantukan, Davao de Oro, donated part of his as-sets to become what is now a Masonic cemetery in Wireless, Davao City.

Discord between the two sects, however, did not escalate into sectarian conflict. The el-ders of the Protestant churches, like the Roman Catholic clergy, have found a common and engaging ground to agree on because both sects and their breakaway factions preach the same gospels and pray to the same Almighty God.

Tourism Barriers And Impediments

“Whatever obstacle comes your way, you gotta be prepared to jump over it. And I think that’s what separates the legends from the artists. It’s all how you manage that success and how you deal with the controversy when it actually comes.” - AKON, American musician.

Much as Philippine tourism officials and the entire government leadership exert their best efforts to improve our (wholesome) international image, the country suffers innately from a severe culture of (small-time) corruption.

The recent expose of extortion of some dirty eggs at the screening area of the NAIA exemplifies the condemnable practice where unsuspecting foreign tourists are fleeced of a few hundred dollars as they pass through the screening area.

(Aren’t we reminded of the tanim-bala scheme?)

House Speaker Martin Romualdez not only denounced the culprits publicly but also strongly urged DOTr Sec. Jaime Bautista to fire all airport screeners thereat.

Romualdez said the efforts of the national government to attract foreign visitors - tourists and businessmen alike - go to waste when right there at the airport entrance, thieves in government uniforms steal and extort money from foreigners.

The theft and extortion that was captured on a gadget video and shown on the social media was a criminal act that sadly and embarrassingly reflected a part of the national lifestyle.

While Romualdez’ suggestion for Bautista to fire all the airport screeners and replace them with new honest personnel was a sweeping statement, it must be acted upon with promptness and alacrity.

The painful truth is that the extortion was committed by just a small group of five who are in collusion with each other and dangerously growing into a syndicate of sorts.

The NAIA has been traditionally the scene of petty extortion since way, way back because none (or most) of the victims did not want to go through the tedious process (and trouble themselves) of going to the police and file a complaint that will not be decided ASAP.

Tourism Sec. Christina Frasco may have to institute remedial measures that will give the Tourism department a say in the conduct of receiving foreign tourists at the airport.

Well-trained tourist receptionists from the DoT can help assure foreign visitors that they are genuinely welcome right there at the country’s doorsteps.

(I had a similar sad experience when i first made a foreign trip on my way to attend an intra-country regional conference in India decades ago.)

Notice that despite stern warnings, some airport personnel cannot help but “earn and pocket a few pesos the bad way.”

I wonder if those caught in the recent extortion act will be punished and serve jail time, though.

If the guilty ones are merely dismissed from their jobs, how sure are we that they won’t do the same criminal act elsewhere?

This vicious cycle goes on and on.

Look into the goings on in the Bureaus of Immigration and Customs, two of the most corrupt government agencies where there is no hope of redemption, if you know what i mean.

Palliative remedies are often the recourse of our government, offering no firm and proven templates of good governance and public service.

After the pandemic, tourism is the principal window by which every government around the world is hoping to rebound from the economic collapse.

PBBM has gone on many trips abroad making sales pitches, vouching that the new government under his helm is stable, transparent and democratic.

Ideally - and without anymore stressing the obvious - every Cabinet Secretary should be in pursuit of PBBM’s specific goals, and that is the country’s overall economic recovery.

As the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Romualdez has every right to declare what in his mind is best for the country. He can perhaps take his suggestion to Bautista a step further by mediating a collaborative meeting between him and DoT chief Frasco.

There might also be a need for some kind of remedial legislation to give Philippine tourism efforts a shot in the arm.

I see a great need to allow the DOT some level of participation as far as the conduct of receiving foreign visitors and tourists at the NAIA is concerned.

Some airport personnel are arrogant and sternly unreasonable because they think too much in the box.

The DOT can help a lot in improving our country’s image at the NAIA. (Email feedback to fredlumba@yahoo. com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!