Bitter lessons for Carcar lechon sellers

For our special presentation on our talk show “Straight from the Sky” we bring you for the first time a serious discussion on mental health, notably about drugs, alcohol, sex, cellphone, gambling and other forms of addiction that destroy the future of the user or his family. The reason why it’s the first time for me to do this on my show is simply that mental health has become a very important issue of the week.

So tonight we have Dr. Renato “Rene” Obra, MD, FPPA, DPBP, FPCAM, and MM. These stands for Diplomate, Philippine Board of Psychiatry, Fellow, Philippine Psychiatric Association, Fellow, Philippine College of Addiction Medicine, and Master in Management. He is also the head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, which gives us full confidence that the man can talk about his business.

So let’s watch this very interesting interview with Dr. Obra tonight 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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First off, allow me to announce and grieve the loss of family and friends. Last week, Mr. Pete Alvez, husband of my second cousin Susan Suico Alvez, passed on to eternal life. Then I learned that last Friday morning, the sister of my dear classmate Quito Farrarons, Mrs. Antonia “Nina” Farrarons Pascual passed away, then later in the afternoon, the mother-in-law of Quito, the mother of his wife Susan Farrarons also died at 96 years old. I expect that this week I shall be attending their funerals.

Meanwhile, waking up yesterday morning, we were greeted with news that our former Rotary governor Mr. Edgar Chiongbian died of a heart attack. Also yesterday morning, we learned that Mr. John Gokongwei Jr., the Cebuano tycoon who built a thriving business across the Asia-Pacific and helped make telecom and airline services more affordable in the Philippines, passed away peacefully on Saturday evening surrounded by his loved ones.

Gokongwei was the third wealthiest man in the country with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at $5.3 billion as of 2019.

Years ago, I was seated beside him on a flight to Manila and he kept looking at me and finally asked me, if we knew each other. When I told him I was an Avila, he immediately remembered his old movie business when he competed with my grandfather Don Jose Avila. He talked with me during the entire trip to Manila. His passing means his legacy will be passed on to his son, Lance, and the rest of his family. May all our family and friends who left us last week and this week rest in peace!

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Last Saturday morning, we went to the Talamban Elementary School to witness the turnover ceremony of the Don Bernardo Benedicto Community Center, a sturdy all-metal, all-purpose center named after Don Bernardo Benedicto, the father of the donors, Ambassador Frank Benedictor and Consul Enrique Benedicto. Also present where our good friend, Rep. Raul del Mar, Vice Mayor Mike Rama, and Councilor Joy Young. This wasn’t the first time the Benedicto Family donated buildings, especially in schools. This family is the most philanthropic in Cebu! God bless them!

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Now for the bigger news, we learned that the Carcar City government has shut down four lechon stalls due to the social media post on lechon vendors disrespecting customers and other violations, especially on proper sanitation. Mayor Merceditas Apura ordered the immediate closure of the stalls owned by Mercy Roel, Honeylette Navaja, Arlene Manreal, and Loreta Camanero at the city’s public market. The closure order was contained in Executive Order No. 55 series of 2019 signed by Apura. We learned that the four lechon stalls committed several violations, including lack of sanitary and business permits. This wasn’t to mention they gave their customers spoiled meat, which was shown in a video.

Frankly speaking, I learned of this ugly practice years ago, which is why I stopped buying lechon there. I mean you travel sometimes more than an hour and get fooled by a lechon stall…which is an insult to us who pay good money for their products. These stall owners think that their customers are so stupid! Thank you Mayor Mercy Apura! Lessons have to be learned!