By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
The other week, I wrote about meeting with a former professor of mine, Congressman Marquez Go of the lone district of Baguio City. Right after the meeting, I had to go down to the Cathedral of the Resurrection area for another appointment at the coffee shop of the Ecologe of Elmer Macalingay of Health 100 fame—which was followed by the opening of Health 101 in front of Benguet State University in La Trinidad, Benguet, and then Health 102 in Gen. Luna Road in Baguio. Yes, you don’t run out of health food restaurant choices in Baguio City.
When I got to the coffee shop, the first person I spotted was not the person I was supposed to meet. It was another former professor of mine in UP Baguio, the former NCIP chair, Bridget Pawid. When she was at the NCIP, the so called brave Igorots in that agency were quaking in their boots whenever she appeared in the doors of their offices or whenever they heard her voice. She was capable of firing a machine gun of words at anybody.
But in that morning the other week, she had something very good to say, that she was buying and reading this paper. Of course I did not have a way to verify this and I did not have to, Her words were more than enough. Another thing she said was even better. When I told her that I just came from the office of Congressman Marquez Go to raise an allegation of corruption in the awarding of infrastructure projects by the Baguio Engineering District of the DPWH, she mentioned of an earlier effort by a college professor, an engineer, whose name escapes me right now, to make college students of a local school understand the reality of corruption in government. Accordingly, this college professor organized students in the city who went around snooping or researching about how corruption is pulled off in the real world. These researchers were feared around the city and, perhaps that effort made a dent as far as local corruption was concerned.
That effort by a college professor was certainly noble and creative. Why doesn’t any of those teaching in college now do the same? Some taste of reality should be given the students. Otherwise, professors will always be describable with one word—B-O-R-I-N-G.
How about us in the media? I guess we have the same duty as college professors. Otherwise we will also be as describable with the same one word. In defense of myself, however, some of the younger ones should spearhead such a move. They should have the energy and the gallantry required.
For us senior citizens, we only have the wisdom from experience, or because of age. We can share this to anybody interested, including the bad effects of vices which many media people are known for.**
