Farewell, Mrs. Martina “Beling” Go Ching Hai

Our special presentation tonight is the formal launching of the Manila Bay cleanup project that is being pushed by our good friend, Manila Yacht Club Commodore Robert “Bobby” Joseph and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and the 12 other government agencies that were issued a mandamus order by the Supreme Court in December 2008 to clean up Manila Bay. Unfortunately, none of these government agencies obeyed the order and then President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino also didn’t pursue the SC order, thus today Manila Bay is 330 times more polluted than the waters around Boracay.

This show won’t be the usual Straight from the Sky interview, but we will try to bring in as many government agency heads. So please watch this special presentation on SkyCable’s channel 53 at 8 p.m. with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9 p.m. Monday, and at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday.

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Today is a sad day for me for it is the burial of a dear friend, Mrs. Martina “Beling” Lim Go, the matriarch of the Go Ching Hai Family. Beling held her smashing but memorable 90th birthday party last June at the Grand Convention Center. I even interviewed her on my talkshow and showed it only last July 30, 2018. Beling had three children; Mrs. Nellie Chiu, Mrs. Paulette Tan, and Edward Hayco.

Even before he died five years ago, Mr. Go Ching Hai and Beling would invite me and my family to lunches and dinners. After Mr. Go Ching Hai died, Beling always invited us to either breakfast at Harold’s Hotel or dinner at Ginza. When you are around Beling, you are never hungry. That’s what Fr. Ernesto Javier said in his homily for Beling’s funeral mass last Friday.

Perhaps my most unforgettable account was when I was at the Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for my kidney transplant two years ago when Beling would always send food to my hospital room because she knew that I could not accept visitors.

Many Cebuanos knew that Beling’s most important impact on Cebu society was being a civic leader when she founded the Federated Organization of Women Active & Responsive to Development (FORWARD) in 1991 with Mila Espina. During her 90th birthday, FORWARD presented her with a book entitled “Moving Ahead with FORWARD,” which was a series of colored photos of people and organizations that supported FORWARD in its 27-year history. Few Cebuanos have done what Beling has done and has kept on with her children by planting more trees, helping out people in need, and giving educational support where it is needed.

She died peacefully last January 24 at 3 p.m. after the Chaplet of Divine Mercy was prayed over her with her entire family surrounding her. But honestly, I have not prayed for her health because I felt that she wasn’t dying at all. She was only absent for three weeks during our Saturday anticipated mass at the Cebu Country Club. But then God wanted her for himself and today we commit her mortal remains to lie beside her husband. So may we ask our pious readers to please pray for the repose of her soul?

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We have always known that the killings happening in Metro Cebu are either drug related or politically motivated. In the dastardly ambush of San Fernando Mayor Lakambini Reluya that wounded her and killed her husband and two others, Cebu Provincial Police Office director Senior Superintendent Manuel Javier Abrugena was given two weeks to solve the case by PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde. It now seems that this is a politically-motivated case.

I heard that Davao-based businessman, Mr. Ruben Feliciano and former mayor Antonio Canoy who had a port project in San Fernando that wasn’t given the go-ahead by Mayor Reluya has decided to run for mayor and vice mayor, respectively. Now why would Feliciano run for mayor unless he desperately wanted the San Fernando Port to be approved if he wins? Of course, Mr. Feliciano denied that he had a hand in the ambush. I heard that Feliciano has military contacts and the ambushers had military uniforms…hmm!

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