DROP-OUTS BUT NOT PUSH-OVERS

Let me share this with you. There was a time when the late presidential spokesman, literary guru and newspaper columnist Adrian E. Cristobal Sr. got angry at motor-mouth Manoling Morato for pontificating that college drop-outs like Joseph Estrada were not qualified to run for president. Mr. Cristobal claimed Mr. Morato insulted millions of drop-outs in the country.

And this group includes Adrian himself, Blas Ople, Kit Tatad and JV Cruz, them all being superior intellectuals, poets, writers and speechwriters, eloquent speakers and wordsmiths.

The Constitution, which stipulates the candidates' age and birth limits, does not require university degrees or a minimum I.Q., he said.

One of the country's greatest presidents, Ramon Magsaysay, never finished college as well.

The country's biggest cheats and crooks today have offices adorned with framed diplomas and doctorates, including those from Harvard, Yale, Stanford - and yes, Georgetown. Look where they have brought this country to.

And now that Estrada could be seeking a second term, will Morato be whining again like a blooming Banshee?

(Image from http://www.asiaobserver.com/)

WHO WAS DON PANYONG?

Epifanio de los Santos (April 7, 1871 - April 18, 1928) was a Filipino historian. He was appointed director of the Philippine National Museum and Library by Governor-General Leonard Wood in 1925. Born in Malabon, de los Santos was the very first Filipino member of the Spanish Royal Academy in Madrid. He studied at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and finished his law course at the University of Santo Tomas. He was considered as one of the best Filipino writers in Spanish of his time, next only to Marcelo H. del Pilar. A nationalist and associate editor of the revolutionary paper La Independencia, writing under the pseudonym G. Solon. He also founded the newspaper La Libertad. He translated Filipino literary works into Spanish - Balagtas' Florante at Laura and some of Dr. Jose Rizal's poems as well. Don Panyong was district-attorney of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, and later on governor of the same province. Was also provincial fiscal of Bulacan and Bataan. Ask anyone on the street these days who Epifanio de los Santos was and what were his contributions to our country, chances are you''ll simply get a blank stare. But for a man whose initials are on the most significant and historical avenue in the Philippines, encompassing the cities of Pasay, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, and Quezon City, he must have been quite a giant in his days. I just hope and pray that none of Gloria Arroyo's lapdog congressmen file a bill changing EDSA to GMAA. If that were to happen, it might as well be the road to nowhere.

(Image from http://epifaniodelossantos.com)

ADRIAN E. CRISTOBAL, 75

Adrian E. Cristobal - the great essayist, political satirist and writer passed on yesterday, December 22, 2007. He was a close friend and a colleague of my father during the Marcos era and thereafter. A friend to many, a loving father and a great teacher in literature and creative writing. I learned much from him especially in the field of political satire and in the fine art of sarcasm. He will always be my 'professor,' both in each stroke of a pen and in the many lessons in life. Among the many books he wrote were, 'Occasional Prose,' 'Pasquinades,' 'The Tragedy of the Revolution,' and 'The Millennium President.' Adieu, Adrian. Until we meet again.

(Image from http://palhbooks.com)