By Joel B. Belinan
To be sure, the overwhelming majority of the Cordillerans have been monitoring the accusation against suspended Bureau of Correction Director General Gerald Bantag relative to the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid. This news is one of the top trending ones based on my browsing of mainstream and social media. This came after Bantag re-surfaced from two weeks of silence and fired his counter-salvo against the government’s investigation agencies. What with some well-known lawyers who seemed not very satisfied with how the government has been conducting itself on the issue. I am referring to former Palace spokesman Harry Roque and the previous Presidential Legal Counsel, Lawyer Salvador Panelo. Both of them seemed to see various loopholes in the case against Bantag based on how the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior and Local Government stated their case during a Press Conference two weeks ago.
The position of Director General as head of the Bureau of Corrections is a four-star general rank. Bantag is the first Igorot general to have attained such rank and former President Duterte who appointed him to that position at a time when the National Bilibid Prison was always in the headlines due to anomalies and alleged conspiracy of certain DOJ officials and high profile inmates. And true enough, Bantag who popularized at the same time the Igorot warrior mentality was reported to have performed according to the expectations of the former president. Unfortunately, it’s that same popularity and the high position of the Director General that contributed to the situation Bantag is in now.
What was funny in the conduct of the government officials as had been their wont since I came to know the meaning of NEWS (North, East, West, South), was they were very good at acting in front of the media but seldom do they match that with their investigating and prosecutorial skills. As a Korean friend commented, “Filipino Police (and other law enforcers) are very eager to open their mouths when the members of the press are around even when it’s not yet the time to do so”. It would be interesting to watch how our Igorot Kababayan Lawyer Rocky Balisong, who I understand is the legal counsel of Bantag, would perform. And I am sure if there will be a need for more lawyers; we have a battalion of Igorot lawyers not only in the Cordillera but also in Manila who will be very happy to stand behind Bantag. As we used to say in Mountain Province, “Kasiyana, awnet Itungtungi en Kabunian” (Loosely, God will direct things to the right path). . **
Thirty-five years ago when I was still in High school, I decided to follow the Ananda Marga Philosophy of life by Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar, or as we devotees call him, Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii. One of the most important of these is being a vegetarian in my diet as a prerequisite to good yoga meditation. And since then I was able to sustain that practice of not taking in meat, fish, and alcoholic beverages; smoking cigarettes, or having a nightlife. In short, clean living. Every time say this to those who did not know of my practice were surprised while others seem not to believe that a person could live that long without taking meat or fish.
Thinking about it, what would have happened if I did not learn the Ananda Marga practice or in my heart, if I did not meet my Guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurtii? It would have been very different. I am not regretting it for sure and in fact, my life experience when I became a missionary of Ananda Marga was the most colorful and happiest stage of my stint on this Earth. Not on material things in life as my life continues to be a struggle as almost every spiritual aspirant has.
But looking at my health, I am confident of being in a much better state than those of my age or even a lot of younger ones. This is not to mention that my parents and three of my siblings had already left for the afterlife due to either cardiovascular-related diseases or their battle with the big C (cancer). What I am saying is that we had in our genes those kinds of dreaded health threats and that makes it very important for me to sustain my clean living. Life is beautiful, yeah. **Of the Bantag hullabaloo and my clean living lifestyle
To be sure, the overwhelming majority of the Cordillerans have been monitoring the accusation against suspended Bureau of Correction Director General Gerald Bantag relative to the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid. This news is one of the top trending ones based on my browsing of mainstream and social media. This came after Bantag re-surfaced from two weeks of silence and fired his counter-salvo against the government’s investigation agencies. What with some well-known lawyers who seemed not very satisfied with how the government has been conducting itself on the issue. I am referring to former Palace spokesman Harry Roque and the previous Presidential Legal Counsel, Lawyer Salvador Panelo. Both of them seemed to see various loopholes in the case against Bantag based on how the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior and Local Government stated their case during a Press Conference two weeks ago.
The position of Director General as head of the Bureau of Corrections is a four-star general rank. Bantag is the first Igorot general to have attained such rank and former President Duterte who appointed him to that position at a time when the National Bilibid Prison was always in the headlines due to anomalies and alleged conspiracy of certain DOJ officials and high profile inmates. And true enough, Bantag who popularized at the same time the Igorot warrior mentality was reported to have performed according to the expectations of the former president. Unfortunately, it’s that same popularity and the high position of the Director General that contributed to the situation Bantag is in now.
What was funny in the conduct of the government officials as had been their wont since I came to know the meaning of NEWS (North, East, West, South), was they were very good at acting in front of the media but seldom do they match that with their investigating and prosecutorial skills. As a Korean friend commented, “Filipino Police (and other law enforcers) are very eager to open their mouths when the members of the press are around even when it’s not yet the time to do so”. It would be interesting to watch how our Igorot Kababayan Lawyer Rocky Balisong, who I understand is the legal counsel of Bantag, would perform. And I am sure if there will be a need for more lawyers; we have a battalion of Igorot lawyers not only in the Cordillera but also in Manila who will be very happy to stand behind Bantag. As we used to say in Mountain Province, “Kasiyana, awnet Itungtungi en Kabunian” (Loosely, God will direct things to the right path). . **
Thirty-five years ago when I was still in High school, I decided to follow the Ananda Marga Philosophy of life by Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar, or as we devotees call him, Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii. One of the most important of these is being a vegetarian in my diet as a prerequisite to good yoga meditation. And since then I was able to sustain that practice of not taking in meat, fish, and alcoholic beverages; smoking cigarettes, or having a nightlife. In short, clean living. Every time say this to those who did not know of my practice were surprised while others seem not to believe that a person could live that long without taking meat or fish.
Thinking about it, what would have happened if I did not learn the Ananda Marga practice or in my heart, if I did not meet my Guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurtii? It would have been very different. I am not regretting it for sure and in fact, my life experience when I became a missionary of Ananda Marga was the most colorful and happiest stage of my stint on this Earth. Not on material things in life as my life continues to be a struggle as almost every spiritual aspirant has.
But looking at my health, I am confident of being in a much better state than those of my age or even a lot of younger ones. This is not to mention that my parents and three of my siblings had already left for the afterlife due to either cardiovascular-related diseases or their battle with the big C (cancer). What I am saying is that we had in our genes those kinds of dreaded health threats and that makes it very important for me to sustain my clean living. Life is beautiful, yeah. **
