Celebrating integrity and beauty

The recent Cagayan de Oro book launch of What’s Happening to Our Country: The Life and Times of Emmanuel Pelaez gathered together at the Limketkai Mall the who’s who of this northern Mindanao City. Top local officials mingled with leading business personalities in the area and five of Emmanuel Pelaez’s children to pay tribute to the well-respected Mindanaoan.

Authored by political commentator and historian Nelson Navarro who was at the launch, the Pelaez biography is an account of the statesman’s favored crusades including barrio autonomy, rural electrification, and justice for the coconut farmer. It is also an engaging tale about the most dominant political personalities from the Quirino administration all the way to the Aquino era.

More than six years after his death, Emmanuel Pelaez who served his country as congressman, senator, vice-president and ambassador  to the United States was remembered fondly by numerous personalities. Misamis Oriental governor and former congressman Oscar Moreno recalled spending long visits with Pelaez, his grand uncle, who encouraged him even when he was still an Ayala Corporation executive to seek public office and serve his province. Among Moreno’s most fulfilling moments was announcing to Pelaez that he had succeeded in bringing electricity to all the areas of Moreno’s congressional district in Misamis Oriental.

Pelaez’s son Ernie singled out his father for his integrity, a quality that was clearly illustrated in the Nacionalista Party convention in 1964 where Pelaez was overwhelmingly expected to emerge as the presidential bet. Pelaez lost that convention and the presidency to Ferdinand Marcos who used a combination of money and force to coerce delegates to give him their votes. Mindanao’s favored son refused to buy votes even if he had the money to do so because he had forged a gentleman’s agreement with Marcos to keep the nomination process clean.

Ernie said, “Maning Pelaez chose to keep his integrity in 1964 even if it meant political death. He chose to be true to himself rather than live a life of eternal compromise thereafter.”

That defining trait of Pelaez led his children to seek a partnership with the Ateneo School of Government and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung to run a seminar for political neophytes seeking public office in May 2010. The four-day program was concluded during the book launching with the awarding of certificates of attendance to 26 participants. At the seminar the previous day, Isabela Governor Grace Padaca and other personalities inspired the political neophytes from all over the Philippines to seek lasting change while keeping their values and integrity. The former broadcast journalist and Ramon Magsaysay awardee encouraged the would-be officials to adopt their own crusades and causes in a quest to bring sustainable and lasting development to our country.

Together with Ernie, siblings Apples, Noel, Berry, Bong and his wife Beng celebrated the life of their father at the well-attended launch cum awarding ceremony. Emmanuel Pelaez’s wife Edith and her children Peachy, Cherry and Rico unfortunately could not be at the event. Among those who shared fond memories of the statesman with his children were: Cong. Rufus Rodriguez, Cong. Bambi Emano, Vice-Governor Norris Babierra., leading business leaders Albino and Francis Limketkai, Steven Gaisano, Hong Sy, Alarico Lim, Gonzalo Go, John Elizaga, Fr. Jet Villarin of Xavier University, Elsie and daughter Paula Perrine, emcee Jun Plaza, and CDO Chamber president Rudy Menez. Former Pelaez aides Manny Valdehuesa, Jun Calub and Naomi Olano made sure they would be at the momentous event that paid tribute to their former boss.

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On another front, two weeks ago, the United States Senate gave its initial approval to a proposed tariff on plastic surgery procedures, and the bill is currently awaiting further discussion. This 5-percent tax on elective cosmetic procedures is part of the 2000-page health reform agenda presented by the US Democratic Party in early November. This simple tax alone is expected to generate $5.8 billion, which will go a long way to help fund their country’s $849 billion health system overhaul.

Now, if 5 percent of a base amount is equivalent to $5.8 billion, that is a pretty big figure. Now if Americans are spending that much money on cosmetic enhancements, that must be a lot of people… hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people. You can bet that when news of the tax first broke out, they – together with their doctors, of course – raised a collective howl.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) actually released a statement bemoaning this act of “discrimination against women,” who represent about 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients there. “This tax is effectively a ‘soccer mom’ tax that will adversely impact mainstream American wives and mothers, who are the majority of plastic surgery patients,” the group reasoned. They further noted that only 10 percent of the respondents of a recent US survey reported a household income of over $90,000, “which clearly refutes the suggestion that elective surgery taxes are ‘luxury’ or ‘sin’ taxes affecting a privileged few”.

Whether or not the ASPS has a valid point is open for debate, but one thing is for sure: even before this tax takes effect, more and more Americans who undergo cosmetic surgery are having it done outside of the United States. Last year, as recession took its toll on their economy, an estimated 550,000 US citizens travelled abroad and saved anywhere from 30 percent to 70 percent (including the cost of travel) on a variety of procedures. By the end of 2009, this figure is estimated to reach 648,000, with growth pegged at 35 percent all the way until 2012 – and that’s just for the United States.

The logic behind this phenomenal trend is plain to see. Dr. Vicki Belo —  yes, the same “controversial” Dr. Vicki Belo who has survived the  negative image attached to her — founder of the Belo Medical Group and the undisputed trailblazer of the local cosmetic surgery industry, summed it up for me quite nicely: “By doing just a little bit of research, foreign nationals can determine that a country such as the Philippines has some of the most qualified, well-trained, and proficient doctors in the world,” she said. “Combine this with the latest state-of-the-art equipment and our renowned focus on patient care, and it’s definitely a winning proposition for any potential patient. Plus, you can spend your recovery time visiting any of our world-class beaches and tourist destinations, and still end up saving money.”

Vicki said  the most popular procedure among out-of-town visitors varies, according to their nationality. “Generally, liposuction and other fat-removal procedures are still the most popular across the board, but our clinics  receive a considerable number of visiting patients  for other procedures as well – rhinoplasty (a.k.a. nose job), facelifts, and breast augmentations.”

OFWs also come in droves, especially in December. “We introduced a breakthrough procedure called ‘Smart Lip’ or ‘Lipo Sculpting’ recently, and we were amazed at the number of OFWs who continue to line up for the procedure. Maybe they saw how good Jinkee (Pacquiao looks),” Vicki said with a laugh.

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