BEHIND THE SCENES

BCBC’s ‘Lakay Tinong’ writes 30
ALFRED P. DIZON

Last Tuesday, “Tinong” Lardizabal, vice president for print of the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club passed away due to aneurism. What is baffling his family and members of the media is why it took so long for personnel of the Baguio General Hospital to take him to the nearby Baguio General Hospital Medical Center for treatment since the latter had the gadget for treating his ailment.

According to the grapevine, Tinong was in critical condition but one doctor reportedly told members of his family he couldn’t risk taking Tinong to the BGHMC. I’m no doctor and like most of my colleagues in media, they couldn’t understand why he was not transferred sooner to the BGHMC. It could have saved his life.
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His scan revealed he had massive brain clotting. I was at Luisas Restaurant with Ramon Dacawi, Nonnette Bennette, Laarni Sibayan Ilagan and Monch David Tuesday night whiling the hours away with some spirits when other media broke the news of Tinong’s demise.

We went to his wake at the Baguio Funeral Homes. We noticed there were a lot of people from all walks of life consoling his family. There were no politicians though. We were not surprised as “lakay Tinong” (his name in the airwaves) was a very amiable fellow and went out of his way to help others.

As Ramon related, in one instance, Tinong donated blood to his brother. Tinong went to the Press Information Office of the Baguio City government which Ramon heads and inquired from him where his brother was confined. He said he wanted to donate his blood as he came to know Ramon’s brother needed it.
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Okay, Ramon said and proceeded to give him money for his fare but Tinong politely declined saying, “Inyakan manong, innak garud tumulong dumawat ak pay kwarta?” At the wake, I heard a lot of instances when Tinong lent a helping hand to others.

He was known as a responsible fellow who didn’t hang out much for loud drinking sessions among his peers and preferred to be home with his family when dusk settled. He could have been one of the best presidents the BCBC ever had, but then, the Great Journalist in the sky called him up.
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I could imagine now elder Baguio journalists who went ahead to the Great Beyond imposing on him tasks. Tinong never complained when we asked him to run errands as the unspoken culture of the BCBC mandates that if you are the youngest, you are expected to do most of the work.

Those who went ahead must be grinning mischievously with Tinong’s entrance to the Pearly Gates – Peppot Ilagan, Steve Hamada, Sid Chammag, Freddie Mayo, Willy Cacdac, Bagnos Cudiamat, George Jularbal, Juan Tenorio, Manny Salenga among others.

Most of them shouted at me at the old Dainty Restaurant their lectures on how news must be written when I was still a young reporter then. But I never begrudged them for that because I knew they had my best interest at heart. Hah! I guess Tinong would be their next victim.
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I was narrating to lawyer Phillip Kiat-ong and Adrian Lee, a Korean friend how Tinong died and they looked surprised how he died. They are almost the same age as Tinong who died at 37.

Phillip said he had been experiencing neck pains the past few days so I told him, maybe a table of aspirin could help. A doctor told me to take in a tablet of aspirin daily when I told him my blood pressure was going up especially every time the pesky rayuma made its presence felt.

I also told Jimmy Chan of Wild West about Tinong’s death which got him talking about what life is all about. He said he had reached the point that he is now content with what he has and that bad times are when one comes to know about one’s real friends.
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He narrated about an acquaintance who asked him why he was not concerned with buying lands as future investment. Jimmy told him he didn’t need a lot of lands since he only needed six feet when he will die. Besides, he added, he already “lived” his future. At a loss, his rich acquaintance left in a huff.

Death is the Great Leveler, and as Jimmy said, it is always better not to do bad against friends, family and other people while one is alive since karma always catches up. Anyhow, Godspeed Tinong!
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Speaking of death, it could also be preceded by torture. It is a welcome development that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ratified last week the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Cruel and Unusual Punishment (OPCAT) and recommended that the Senate concur with this ratification.

Separately, at last week’s Legislative and Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting, the President also urged legislators to prioritize the Magna Carta for Women and a law to strengthen the Witness Protection Program, both measures critical to human rights promotion and protection.

An e-mail to the Northern Philippine Times said President Arroyo signed the Instrument of Ratification for the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and immediately transmitted it to the Office of the Senate President.

In the ratification document, the President said, “The Philippine government is morally obliged to strengthen the country's compliance with international human rights instruments". since the Philippines is a current member of the U.N. Human Rights Council, and has been a State Party to the Convention against Torture and Cruel and Unusual Punishment (CAT) since 18 June 1986.
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The Optional Protocol supplements the convention against torture by "establishing international and national mechanisms that will conduct regular and periodic visits to places of detention for the purpose of monitoring the situation" and for prevention of torture.

Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, also chairman of the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC) said, "With the ratification, the Arroyo Administration has fulfilled its commitment to the Filipino people and the international community to ratify this important treaty. We hope the Senate can make this a priority as well. "

Domestic and international NGOs have been advocating for RP to ratify the Optional Protocol to CAT for several months. Balay Rehabilitation Center lobby expert Lieza Ugay upon hearing of the President's ratification was reported as saying the OPCAT ratification was "long-awaited. This will really help the Philippines to be more humane as a country."

Executive Director Renato Mabungay of the umbrella organization Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) was also quoted as saying, "We welcome this intention but to ratify the OPCAT but abiding by it is another matter. We look forward to the government's further commitment to abiding by the Convention and the Optional Protocol."
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Ermita said the inclusion of the OPCAT and two bills in the LEDAC agenda is part of the momentum on human rights matters the Arroyo government promised to continue after undergoing the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva this last 11 April. At the UPR, many countries noted that RP was one of the few to have ratified all 7 core human rights treaties.

The PHRC had decided to recommend ratification to the President at a meeting on April 3 after a series of meetings to discuss international human rights matters. The Geneva-based NGO, Association for the Prevention of Torture congratulated the RP delegation on this intention when it was announced during the UPR session on the RP. The 1987 Constitution gives the President the power to ratify international treaties but, as a balance, the Senate has the mandate to concur with the ratification of such before it can go into force.