Titas de Bacolod: Negros

Showing posts with label Negros. Show all posts

Friday, November 4, 2022

Friday, November 04, 2022

Roli's Napoleones : The Original Dessert Negrenses Have Loved Through The Years

Word has gotten around that a food festival showcasing Negrense food is happening at the Hidalgo Drive of the Rockwell Center in Makati, Metro Manila. Dubbed as the Namit Namit Food Festival, this gathering will perhaps be the very first time the Manila-based people of Negros Island, the sweet spot of the Philippines, will be celebrating their holiday known as Cinco de Noviembre in Metro Manila.

If there's one thing we all know Negrenses for, it's their passion for rolling out the best food for their guests to delight in. I'm sure that all the best inasals will be out, KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, Langka), Kansi and other Negrense favorites. However, for this moment, I'm zooming in on what I've always maintained as the original dessert Negrenses have loved through the years - Napoleones from Roli's!

For those who haven't come across it yet, Napoleones is basically a mille-feuille (translated to "a thousand sheets"), layers of puff pastry with custard filling and topped with sugar glaze. It has been around that in the minds of the older Negrenses, there's only one name attached to it - Roli's.

Long before Negrenses capped their meals with chocolate cake and coffee, we were doing Napoleones with coffee. In those days people didn't care at all about their blood sugar and would have Napoleones with sweetened coffee. I personally liked the idea of drinking my coffee black, and munch on sweet Roli's Napoleones as a way to temper and balance out the flavors.

That's probably what I'll be doing again today as the Namit Namit Food Festival opens at 10am. I'm going to walk my dog to Rockwell and get the first box of Roli's Napoleones. Before I even bring the box(es) back home, I'm going to have an unsweetened Americano to go along with it in the park bench and savor all the happy times we enjoyed this delicacy with the family. Just like old times.

O te', dali na kamo sa Namit Namit.

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Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod

Sunday, February 27, 2022

The Ghost of Marcos Crony and Plunderer Roberto Benedicto Haunts Negros Island in 2022

Blog, Issues

BACOLOD CITY - When presidential aspirant, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. came into town last February 23, 2022, eyebrows were raised among Bacolod and Negros Occidental citizens as to who came out to support the son of the former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.

It was of no surprise that Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer was leading the party to welcome Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The dots are so easy to connect. Vice Governor Ferrer is the spouse of the Representative of Negros Occidental's 4th District, Hon. Juliet Marie "Yoyette" Ferrer, daughter of Philippine movie industry icon Kitchie Benedicto. Kitchie Benedicto was the daughter of former Philippine Ambassador Roberto S. Benedicto, who is known to have been Ferdinand Marcos' crony for cornering the proceeds of the sugar industry.

Under Martial Law, then President Marcos allowed Benedicto (known locally as "RSB") to take control of the Philippine Exchange Company (Philex), which monopolized the sugar planters' international trade. Benedicto used Philex to buy cheap sugar from local producers and sell it abroad for large profits, largely at the expense of the planters who in turn could not in turn pay back bank loans and wages of people in their farms.

The domino effect was that hunger was widespread in the countryside, breeding an insurgency and making Negros island a hotbed for local communist rebels.

These were the worst days of Negros after World War II and most Negros sugar planters remember how bitter those days were. Only most remember the bitter days of unrest and hunger in Negros because when Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. flew in last week, it seemed like quite a lot had forgotten their sorry state under the plunder of RSB.

Without having to name names, they were there. The ones who left for the US in the early 1980s as students or as young professionals to start a new life because there was hardly any future for them left in Bacolod. Today, having bounced back, living well, and retired or semi-retired in Bacolod, they are now throwing support behind Bong-Bong Marcos, oblivious to the agonies of their late parents who staunchly fought RSB and Marcos.

As if to spit on the graves of their deceased parents who hurt the most during the RSB years, the fresh local supporters came out in red and green in adulation of the dictator's son.

When one looks back, there will always be the supporters of the late President Marcos in Negros. Even back then under Marcos years, there were families who were loyal to Marcos up in the north and down in the south. No one forgets the infamy of the Escalante massacre in 1985. So yes, FM loyalists have their place in Negros. And yes, you have to give them some loyalty award for being there all throughout.

What puzzles though is the selective amnesia many have shown. It is one thing to support FM Jr. because you were there all along like your father was an Assemblyman during Marcos time and you had access to FM, getting some minor favors from the strongman along the way. But it is definitely another story, painfully hilarious, to see the ones shouting, "Sama Sama tayo Babangon Muli", knowing very wall that thirty six years ago, they were at the Bacolod Public Plaza chanting, "Tama Na! Sobra Na! Palitan Na!".

As it is, with a strong following, in Negros, you have to hand it to the supporters of the Uni-Team for having called up the ghost of the Marcos crony and plunderer Roberto S. Benedicto, as if to sneer on all who were victimized, "I'm baaaaack!".

This only prompts those on the other side of the fence, whether for Pacquiao, Lacson, Isko, or Leni, to fight harder as never before.

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Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod

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To see Imelda at the food court without the pomp and splendor normally attached to her wherever she goes brought up a myriad of emotions. I felt a bit sad seeing this. It reminded me of my Mama's last days. But I quickly snapped out of that sadness because I was reminded of the incident two years ago ......Read More

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Meet The Man Who Helped Marcos Bring Negros Island To Its Knees

Negros Island was in a woeful state at the eve of the snap elections in 1986. Negros as a word was synonymous to "Crisis" in those days. For the longest time, the sugar industry, romanticized by the well-heeled landowners of Negros and Iloilo, was the prima donna of Philippine ......Read More

Friday, February 25, 2022

Remembering Nena - the Fighter for Causes

Negros, People

Found in one of the archives of The Visayan Daily Star. Excerpts from Ninfa R. Leonardia's farewell to Nena (Carolina) Lacson Garcia in 2015:

But Nena was also a fighter for causes. When the sugar industry was threatened during the days of the dictatorship, she was one of the most outspoken and blunt in her criticisms. At one time, the late sugar industry leader, Roberto S. Benedicto, set an interview with me and two other journalists from Bacolod, to be done in a TV station run by his company in Manila. It was about the current issues heating up between the industry leaders and local planters.

***

Nena was one of those who fed me with the most biting questions, and when I dared to ask them of RSB, knowing that all the planters in Negros were watching, she told me later that they clapped very hard for me. I asked her if they noted that my hands were shaking and my voice cracking, and she just laughed. “At least you got the point across,” she said. But good and loyal as she was as a friend, she could also be brutally frank when she is aggrieved and in the right. Even journalists who crossed her got their come-uppance.

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Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod

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Saturday, April 1, 2017

Saturday, April 01, 2017

Jeepney Transformation : Bacolod City Will Soon Have Hummers for Jeepneys

Bacolod, Negros

Hummer Jeepney : A new kind of Jeepney

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines - In line with the move to phase out old and environmentally-unfriendly jeepneys, a new kind of jeepney will roll out in Bacolod City.

Known for its world famous MassKara Festival and delectable chicken inasal, Bacolod, the City of Smiles will be known for another first - the use of Hummers as public transport.

The Filipino Jeepney has for many years been a symbol of Filipino ingenuity being the most popular means of public transportation in the country.

Originally made from U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II and improvised and refitted through Filipino resourcefulness, the jeepney will take on a new shape this year when ingenuity meets the legendary decadence of Negros Island.

Bacolod City will be the first city in the Philippines to see the rollout of the new generation of jeepneys using GM Hummers as its platform. The project is spearheaded by a visionary from Bacolod who requests to be made anonymous at this time.

The visionary sugar farmer relates, "There is really nothing new about this except the new platform using Hummers. Jeepneys are here to stay. The "Humjeep" project is faithful to the original intentions of the of the jeepney, and that is to convert a military transport vehicle into a form of public conveyance". He adds, "My close friends who know this project tell me I'm nuts, but I tell them that you're the ones who don't know what legacy is all about. Years from now, tourists in the Philippines will go to Bacolod just to ride one of the five Hummer jeepneys I'll be deploying".

"Love it or hate it, the Jeepney will never go away. All that's needed is a new platform for which the Hummer is perfect. The fact that the Hummer was also a military vehicle adds to the novelty".

A look at the current "Humjeep" hidden in a Negros gamefarm shows that it has been modified by eliminating the rear side doors and creating a single rear door which is typical of regular jeepneys.

The Bacolod-based visionary adds, "For the additional Humjeeps, we will be sourcing two more from Port Irene and we are eyeing to buy Piolo Pascual's H3 and Angel Locsin's H2."

Soon, riding a jeepney will really be more fun in Bacolod.

Visual peg of the interiors of the Bacolod "Humjeep" project (source : PDI)

Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod

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Sunday, September 11, 2016

I'm Excited About Saravia Blue Crab at the 31st Negros Trade Fair

Food, Manila

The one time when crab mentality is good and is advocated. Saravia blue crab sells crab meat in different variants- claw meat, cocktail claw fingers, special, super lump, and jumbo! All will be available at the Silay Export booth on Sept.14-18 at the Negros Trade Fair!

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Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod

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Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The Photo Which Launched Ten Thousand Feeding Programs

Art, Issues

There are three events which led to my writing of this piece. Two are in the future, and one just happened over the weekend.

Just a few days ago, we celebrated National Heroes' Day. Often, we think of heroes as someone who valiantly fought a war or stood up against tyranny. For us Titas, Joan of Arc is the default icon that comes to mind as we grew up in schools who took pride in their order stemming from Europe. Inasmuch as there are the Filipina heroines such as Gabriela Silang, nothing comes quite close to the romanticism of being burnt at the stake.

With Joan of Arc as a mental peg, I am drawn to think of our modern day Joans. These were the many women of Negros Island during the Marcos years who took their valiant stand not just against tyranny but against the onslaught of widespread hunger in the political volcano that was Negros.

Flashback to 1985. Negros Island was a boiling cauldron of political unrest. The sugar planters were stuck in the doldrums and reeling from the systematic pillage of the sugar industry by Ferdinand Marcos and his college buddy, Roberto S. Benedicto - RSB as he was unfondly known. Insurgency as brought forth by the communist rebels was alive and well in the countryside and in the hinterlands of Negros. A massacre had just been perpetrated in the northern town of Escalante.

All over, the collateral damage were the children who hardly had anything to eat. Malnutrition was widespread. Many children, numbering over a hundred thousand Negros-wide were in critical or third-degree malnourished state. A third degree state is when a child weighs only 40% of the weight for their normal age.

It was an emergency situation which summoned the attention of various relief and aid organizations the world over. And meanwhile, the party went on in Malacanang. The first family must have been gleefully counting their gold bars. Yes, the same gold bars they brought to Hawaii, borne of the sweat of the sugar workers and more.

If social media were alive back then, people would be putting forth hashtags such as #prayfornegros and #savethenegroschildren. But there was no social media to bring this to the public. The government-controlled media back then could only publish what was beautiful and acceptable in praise of the Marcos regime.

Amidst that grim landscape, a photo leaked out. It was one photo among many by 1987 Pulitzer Prize Winner Kim Komenich. It was the iconic photo of Joel Abong, the son of a fisherman. His malnourished state and dire facial expression triggered the mobilization of a thousand feeding programs and sacrificial lunches. No, not a thousand, make that ten thousand. Leading the charge were the international agencies such as UNICEF and Oxfam. They were our heroes. They were the ones who literally stood on the top of the Ford Fieras and rented jeepneys with megaphone in hand putting order into the feeding sessions conducted.

Parallel to the international agencies' efforts were the numerous feeding programs put together by the housewives of the planters. They did not need any media to alert them of what was happening. They knew there was hunger. It was not just reported, it was felt first hand. Thirty one years on from those days which led up to the snap elections and EDSA revolution of 1986, I wish to take this moment to honor all the women of Negros who silently went out of their way and organized themselves to feed the poorest of the poor.

Beyond the feeding, these women of Negros took it one step further. Cottage industries were set up to somehow provide a means of livelihood for the women in the farms who no longer had any work in the canefields. Out of the hunger in the countryside, a chain reaction was set in motion. Feeding programs, cottage industries, and eventually, the showcase of the industries born out of adversity - what we know today as the Negros Trade Fair - the longest running provincial trade fair in the Philippines.

This happens in a few days time. The second of the three events I mentioned above will take place in the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati. It is a time of jubilation for the triumph over adversity - adversity which was epitomized by the photo of Joel Abong.

The last event I need to mention is that of the imminent burial of dictator Ferdinand Marcos' remains at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Unlike the upcoming Negros Trade Fair, this is no time for jubilation. Words cannot describe how in one quick moment, the burial of FM at the Libingan ng mga Bayani immediately implies that we are all traitors for having ousted him.

There are those who say let us move on and allow him that burial for he is a president after all. I will not waste time and words to argue. Just look at the face of Joel Abong above. And then perhaps you could close your eyes and simultaneously imagine Imelda rocking the night away in her rooftop disco in Malacañang.

(Note : Joel Abong died six days after this photo was taken)

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Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod

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Sunday, August 7, 2016

Sunday, August 07, 2016

Negros : An Island of People With Super Short Memories

Negros, People

I couldn't believe my eyes the other day as I walked into Rustan's Makati through the back entrance where the steel carpark is. There, on the mini-food court tables between the Vargas Kitchen and Via Mare Express sat the Imeldific one. She was on her wheelchair having merienda with her attendants, two nurses in white, while her bodyguards were seated in the next table watching the Madam.

Imelda in the mini food court?! Now that was a sight to behold! When I told this the next day to Tata and Inday, their reaction was, "Wow, wala man lang sya nagpa-Benny's na lang? (Wow, shouldn't she have just gone to Benny's?)". Benny's is of course the restaurant named after the husband of one of her Blue Ladies.

To see Imelda at the food court without the pomp and splendor normally attached to her wherever she goes brought up a myriad of emotions. I felt a bit sad seeing this. It reminded me of my Mama's last days. But I quickly snapped out of that sadness because I was reminded of the incident two years ago when at the Ayala Museum, I came early for the Rush Hour series of concerts where Dr. Ingrid Sala Santamaria was to play not just one, but two concertos with the Manila Symphony Orchestra. Being the early bird, I sat at the front row in the best possible seat to allow me a view of the pianist's fingers. There was no sign whatsoever that the seats were reserved. Nada!

The room started filling up over the next 45 minutes until it filled five rows from the front. Then, someone from the Ayala Museum walks up and says, "Ma'am, these seats are reserved". It puzzled me because there was no sign that the seats were reserved at all. So I moved two seats to the left which would then make me miss my view of Ingrid's fingers but instead give me a perfect view of her back. Lady from Ayala Museum says, "Umm, Ma'am, it's the entire row that's reserved."

In my mind I said, "What?!!! You didn't even have a sign here that these were reserved!!!". If there was a sign, I would have taken the second row and still have a nice view of Ingrid's fingers dancing on the keyboard. I wasn't in the mood to argue and make a scene anymore. You know how we are once we get started. Noblesse oblige took over and I just went my way to get a seat at row 6 as rows 2 to 5 were already filled by those who likewise came early enough to earn their space.

Then after 5 minutes, she arrived. SHE arrived! The one for whom the seats were "Reserved" for. Imelda came in a green dress with the signature butterfly sleeves. Gwapa gyapon (still pretty) - though bloated through age. Assisted by the lady who booted me out of my seat, she took the front row.

So here I am at row 6, my view of Ingrid's back, obstructed by the people in the forward rows and most of all, obstructed by the one who took my seat - the Imeldific one. She was in the very same line of sight to viewing Ingrid's back. So I said to myself, "Ahhh, I will just close my eyes when the concert starts so I can just concentrate on the music."

I tried closing my eyes even though the concert hadn't started. Honestly, it made things worse than actually seeing Imelda up ahead in my former seat. With my eyes open, I could see Imelda, I could see the musicians, and I was in the 'moment'. With my I eyes closed, I was quickly teleported out of the Ayala Museum and brought back to Negros of the 1980s where turmoil and uncertainty pervaded the island. I can remember. I can feel it. It's just like it happened yesterday.

Sadly, many Negrenses do not remember. They no longer remember the systematic pillage of the sugar industry that was carried out during the Marcos years through Roberto S. (Bobby) Benedicto a.k.a. RSB. People say, Filipinos have short memories and they do not learn from the lessons of the past. Well, welcome to Negros, the island where people have even shorter memories than the rest of the country.

A large number of Negrenses now based in America forget that the main reason why they are now in the US was because they fled Bacolod in despair and hopelessness. Oh, they will not admit it openly, but that's the truth. They will not admit to despair and hopelessness, only to "seeking greener pastures". Yes, any pasture elsewhere was greener when overlaid against the background of the countryside insurgency and widespread hunger where NGOs and charities had to come in and do a splendid job of helping alleviate the hunger.

People in Negros hardly remember anything. Recently, the Philippine National Bank celebrated 100 years of existence. Despite the centenary, people forget their odd bond between themselves and PNB. Back then, it was said that Negrenses had to "go to mass" three times a week. Once in the Catholic church for spiritual upliftment, and twice at the PNB main building along Lacson street to nurse misery because of their crop loans.

They forget that there was such a thing as the California Overseas Bank which the Marcos crony, the late Bobby Benedicto, created in order to launder funds for former dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. In 1990, RSB agreed to turn over to the Philippines, the California Overseas Bank as a way to avoid racketeering and conspiracy charges.

RSB as we recall was indicted in 1988 along with Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos on charges of fraud, racketeering and conspiracy in the US. Back then, Benedicto, a fugitive at 73, avoided arrest by using fictitious names and multiple passports to shuttle clandestinely among such places as Hong Kong, Spain and Venezuela, where he had extensive investments - with thanks largely to the Negrense people.

Negrenses even forget that the main reason why there is the successful Negros Trade Fair today, is because the hacienderos wives, stepped up to the challenge to find ways to augment incomes among the farm workers by giving them work through cottage industries. It goes back again to the plunder of Imelda and Ferdie, and of course our very own, RSB.

I write this because I did see the Imeldific one in a momentarily lonely state at Rustan's. But that is not for long. In about a month's time, she will be happy and overjoyed when the apparent remains of Ferdie from that cold box in Ilocos are finally interred at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani.

When that day comes, it will not be an interment of sadness to the immediate family. It will be an interment of triumph. Definitely, it will be a sad day for those who remember the atrocities and plunder which Marcos has committed.

Tragically, most Negrenses could not care. They could hardly care not primarily because they are detached physically in another island 700 miles away from the Libingan. They could not care anymore because they could not remember.

Welcome to Negros : An Island of People With Super Short Memories.

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Follow me on Twitter @TitasdeBacolod

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Meet The Man Who Helped Marcos Bring Negros Island To Its Knees

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Why People From Bacolod Spend Tomorrow's Money Today

Issues, Negros

Now listen here. Your Tita will tell a story....

There is a saying that the people from Davao spend yesterday's money today, the people from Cebu spend today's money today, but the people from Bacolod spend ...well, tomorrow's money today.

How did it get to this point? What triggered such behavior? If you still have these lingering questions, allow me to take the first step in breaking apart the mystery.

Spending versus one's future earnings comes naturally to the Negrense. This was triggered before the turn of the 20th century when sugar as a product was picking up in terms of price in the world market. Demand was beginning to grow among the Commonwealth domains in South East Asia including Australia and New Zealand.

The principal catalyst in this little "Story of Sugar" is a man by the name of Nicholas Loney. He was the son of a British admiral, born in the naval town of Plymouth, and well-educated. He left England at the age of 24 to seek his fortune and travelled to South America, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and finally to the Philippines in 1852. He became a clerk in Manila of the British firm Ker & Co.

In 1856, Loney was assigned to Iloilo and became a vice-consul and eventually opened the firm of Loney & Ker & Co. In those days, British ships came to the Negros and Panay region to be loaded up with sugar for export to Australia and the other states in the region under the British flag. Once docked in the ports of Negros and Iloilo, the ships would be stationed for some time until it was fully loaded with sugar for export. Precious days were lost in this exercise.

To arrest the situation, sugar crops and produce were paid for in advance the year before so as not to hamper the loading of sugar on British vessels. This is where the practice of receiving money against standing crops began in the Philippines. From those days, the crop loan had entrenched its way into Negrense lifestyle. This was further fortified by the sugar quota system under the Jones-Costigan Act of 1934 wherein year on year, the Philippines had a great quota to fill, not only for the British but for the almighty US of A.

Imagine receiving the bumper reward of money months before the crops were to be harvested! Loney even convinced the American financial house of Russel & Sturgis to open a branch in the Negros-Panay region in order give crop loans to planters.

Now with cash on hand to spend long before the harvest has actually come, I guess I need not elaborate how Negrense decadence came about and how the phenomenon has become legendary.

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Negros : An Island of People With Super Short Memories

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Behind The Scenes - June 12, 2014 : A Glittering Zonta Affair

Bacolod, Events

Behind the Scenes with Ivy Visitacion

It was an evening of elegance when the Zonta Club of Bacolod held the induction of officers for 2014-2016 and the new members at the Nature's Village in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, recently.

There was a distinct note of refined taste all throughout the evening. Zontians and guests came in their finest Filipiniana attire, complete with sparkling jewelry, while the men looked dashing in their barongs. The dining hall was bathed in soft light to dramatic effect.

Gleaming cutlery was complemented by dainty napkins while each table had a centerpiece filled with foliage. Each guest was warmly welcomed by the Zontians as they were ushered to their tables. Dinner was absolutely divine. Everyone enjoyed themselves as they savored expertly-crafted dishes especially concocted for the occasion.

The induction of new members was officiated by Dr. Flor Miel of Zonta Club of Cebu II, while the induction and installation of officers was officiated by Elena Chiongbian-Young, also of Zonta Club of Cebu II. Negros Occidental first lady, Dr. Marilyn Marañon, delivered an inspiring acceptance speech after her induction as the new club president, where she revealed her plans and dreams for the club. Her husband, Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., was wildly applauded when he presented her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers after her speech.

The other officers are Suzette Lacson - vice president, Edna Pahilanga - secretary, Carissa Maalat - treasurer, Belen Elizalde - auditor, and Manon Hernaez, Lina Lim, Laniebelle Javelosa and Nina Arceo - directors.

The guest speaker, Chiongbian-Young, impressed the audience with her eloquent and enlightening speech on what it means to be a Zontian. Guests commented on how well-organized the entire affair was. Kudos to the organizers for a terrific job. Well done!*

Meet The Man Who Helped Marcos Bring Negros Island To Its Knees

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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Thursday, January 09, 2014

Behind The Scenes - January 9, 2014 : A new pala-pala opens

Bacolod, Blog

Behind the Scenes with Ivy Visitacion

One of the best attractions of Bacolod City is our delicious fresh seafood that has visitors coming back for more. A new addition to the restaurants catering to this specialty is “Ading's Palapala” seafood restaurant bar, in front of the Palapala Market.

This restaurant is the brainchild of our friend, Ricky Trinidad of Mely's Garden Restaurant, who decided to open a sprawling, spacious sea foods place, together with Gigi Sumawang, daughter of Manila socialite, Ofelia Trinidad, who was famous for her Pistang Pilipino restaurant in Malate, Manila.

When we arrived for the opening night, the place was already filled with the food-loving Bacolod crowd. Ricky informed us that it was named after his father, Arcadio “Ading” Trinidad, who was also a known restaurateur in Manila.

Dinner was a marvelous array of scrumptious Filipino dishes that gave us a preview of what the restaurant has to offer. We particularly enjoyed the succulent seafood that was fresh from the sea and tasted divinely with our drinks. Ricky also said this is a family restaurant where kids can play in the playroom designed especially for them while their parents enjoy their meals. What a marvelous addition it is to the numerous eating places we have in Bacolod.

Bon appetit! *

https://www.visayandailystar.com/2014/January/09/starlife.htm

Monday, April 22, 2013

Negros Occidental mayor to file claims vs Benedicto estate over PNB crop loans

Events, Negros

BACOLOD CITY - Pulupandan, Negros Occidental Mayor Magdaleno Pena, who manages the Montilla Estate that joined former Ambassador Roberto S. Benedicto in his single sugar marketing scheme during Martial Law but failed to earn anything, will intervene on Benedicto's estate proceedings to avoid foreclosure.

Peña’s lawyer Roger Reyes confirmed the chief executive’s plan to file the intervention after the elections in a press conference held over the weekend.

Reyes said that in response to the demand letters from Philippine National Bank for their crop loans during that time, Peña will file claims on Benedicto’s estate before the Regional Trial Court Branch 51 in Metro Manila, where the case is pending.

“A group of sugar producers especially the Montilla family has decided to take actions against the estate of Roberto S. Benedicto,” he said.

Reyes also urged other sugarcane planters in the province who are in the same situation as his client to do the same.

"Unless the sugar producers will take action to defend themselves, the PNB, which is now controlled by Lucio Tan, will eventually start foreclosing the sugar lands and other collateral for the crop loans,” he warned.

From 1972 to 1984, Reyes said an estimated P14 billion has been taken by the defunct National Sugar Trading Corp. (NASUTRA) from sugar producers through its single selling marketing scheme based on a research conducted by University of the Philippines’ School of Economics.

NASUTRA, then headed by Benedicto, was the buying marketing arm of the Philippine Sugar Commission (Philsucom) organized in 1977.

“What happened was no single centavo was returned to the sugar industry. That's why, until now, there are no new investments like putting up new sugar centrals,” he lamented.

He added that after Martial Law, sugar planters did not acquire new tractors because of uncertainties in the sugar industry in addition to the threats of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Reyes said Manny Lacson and Lopez Sugar Corp. were the only groups that filed intervention on the Benedicto estate proceedings with minimal claims.

These groups were able to get the records of the proceedings from the Supreme Court, he said.

Benedicto was among the business cronies of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

-Philippine News Agency

Friday, January 1, 2010

Friday, January 01, 2010

A family reunion turned feud

#disgusting, #heytita

Dear Tita,

Every year, our mother always wants a big family reunion here with all the members present. I had been working abroad for a number of years and couldn't come home for the holidays. This year, I arrived from abroad loaded with gifts for everyone. My husband and two kids came along to enjoy with the rest of the family. However, when I distributed the gifts, I noticed some relatives were disappointed as they were expecting more. I could hear grumbling from some members which I tried to ignore.

Last Christmas eve, our relatives came to the house asking for money. I could only give what I could afford, which wasn't much after all the expenses for our trip and the presents I brought. Instead of appreciating what I gave, they complained that I was selfish and kuripot. When my mother heard the talks, she reacted and got mad at our relatives. This caused our relatives to quarrel with my mother and my sisters. I never expected this to happen.

My husband Peter (a Canadian), was shocked at what happened. He didn't expect it in our family. Now he wants us to leave immediately after the New Year. He says we shouldn't come back again if this happens among our relatives. I am also ashamed of what my relatives have shown. In their greed, they have given the impression that money is more important than family ties. Why can't they understand that even if we came from abroad, we are not that rich, especially with the recession? I hope our relatives realize how wrong they are.

Thank you for giving my letter your kind attention.

SAD BALIKBAYAN

Dear Sad Balikbayan

It is unfortunate that what should have been a happy occasion, turned out into a family feud. Your relatives have shown bad manners in insisting on more extravagant gifts and money from you and your husband. Peter must have been appalled at their bad behavior. I hope he doesn't think all Filipinos are like that. When things have settled down, your mother must try to have a dialog with your relatives and set them straight, especially about the worldwide recession.

I'm sure you have a lot of friends here who are more than willing to show you and your family a good time during the rest of your stay. Hopefully, they can make Peter see the true hospitality and warm nature of Negrenses.

TITA

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