The Pieta Park Demolition is Dishonoring the Memory of Doña Paz Tragedy Victims

Credit: Jhonil C. Bajado's Facebook page

Today is the Anniversary of the Titanic. However, I couldn't help but think of the even bigger disaster Doña Paz when the Titanic is remembered. The Doña Paz was called the Titanic of Asia--a disaster that had more victims than the already tragic, Titanic. The Pieta Park, a Catholic religious shrine, was also dedicated to the victims of the tragedy. I would search for "Dona Paz" on Facebook, and it's sad to know that some bodies were never found. Out of respect for them, I will choose to leave then Anonymous

I'd like to cite this excerpt from the Daily Tribune:

CATBALOGAN CITY – A plaza dedicated in memory of thousands who died in the sinking of passenger boat Doña Paz has been demolished, drawing outrage among the residents of this city.
Catbalogan City Mayor Dexter Uy said the demolition of Pieta Park on Saturday shocked him, especially since the city has not issued any permit for the demolition or the planned construction of a fast-food store in the same area.
“This is very saddening especially that the park holds important historical and cultural symbols of us Catbaloganon,” he said. “This is also one of the few remaining open spaces in the city and was declared as tangible immovable property by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.”
Pieta Park, located right in front of St. Bartholomew Church, was opened on 22 August 1995, on the eve of the city fiesta to honor the over 5,000 victims of the Doña Paz tragedy.
To recall, the passenger ship MV Doña Paz, which sailed from Tacloban City to Manila, dropped by Catbalogan City to pick up more passengers en route to its destination. The ship figured in a collision with oil tanker MT Vector on 20 December 1987, catching fire and eventually sinking, resulting in the deaths of thousands of passengers, with only 26 survivors.

This should be a tragedy. We learn from history. We may not cling to the past but we never forget it, to learn from it. This park demolition should be a national outrage. Just think how many people died during Doña Paz--it was worse than the already terrible Titanic. People who did the demolition should be dealt with swiftly and accordingly.

The Three Drug Mules Executed in China Last January 30, 2011

Al Jazeera Today is March 30, 2026. It has been 15 years since the execution of the three drug mules. Their names are Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, Ramon Credo (who was cremated in China shortly after his execution), and Elizabeth Batain (whose face was never revealed, perhaps due to the loved ones requesting more privacy). Contrary to what one might think, the three drug mules weren't a trio. Instead, they were three separate cases that just happened to be scheduled to die on the same day. They weren't a trio. They had a temporary reprieve when former vice president Jejomar Binay tried to save them . Villanueva, together with Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain, was scheduled to be executed last month but got a reprieve after Vice President Jejomar Binay traveled to China and personally appealed to Chinese authorities. BBC News even gave such a short news report, that I felt compelled to copy/paste the whole time as a reference here: Philippine Vice-President Jejomar Bin...

Wrong Assumption: Those Who Wish to Reform the 1987 Constitution are Automatically Marcos Loyalists and Diehard Duterte Supporters

Orion Perez Dumdum, founder of the CoRRECT Movement was featured in the INQUIRER.net page. It's no surprise that there would be detractors every now and then. Some people still believe that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is "inviolate". If that were so then why does Article XVII exist that the constitution is open for amendments ? It's no surprise that some idiot alleged that Orion is actually a Marcos supporter. The arguments by the anti-reforms are basically Nom Sequitur and Ad Hominem . The use of personal attacks and illogical conclusions are common argument flaws. In fact, one just needs to understand the poor Filipino logic . I remember all the stupidity going on. It's funny such people accuse me of Ad Hominems while doing Ad Hominems themselves! What I'd like to focus on is the Nom Sequitur. Its definition is: 1 : an inference (see inference sense 1) that does not follow from the premises (see premise entry 1 sense 1) specifically : a fallacy...

BRUTAL Truth: Stop HOPING for Another "PNoy-Like President" Because the Parliamentary System will Produce MUCH BETTER Leaders

Let me get this straight, I'm not here to totally dismiss the good that the late Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" C. Aquino III did. I'll try to be least biased when I'm writing this to "give a shock" to those who tend to treat his term as a "magical time". However, I'm going to have to warn people about the problem of looking for "another Messiah leader". Yesterday was the would've been 66th birthday of Noynoy if he were alive. One can talk good about Noynoy's legacy. However, we need to realize that relying on Noynoy's term is a violation of the Mahathir Mohamad principle of "Never stop learning." We need to think that there's only one Noynoy and when he died, he died . TV-5 reveals that Rep. Edgar Erice, a long-time friend of the late leader, also said the following: Caloocan City 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice made the remark in a social media post marking Aquino’s 66th birth anniversary. In the post, he co...

Justice for Kingston Ralph Ko Cheng

Would you still want to hate to follow rules? Well, it's time to think about the tragic loss of Kingston Ralph Ko Cheng , who lost his life because someone in the road didn't want to follow simple guidelines. It was two days ago when, suddenly, Kington's life was taken away from him. It was difficult for me to process what happened. I would like to share my thoughts of this reckless incident of what happens when laws are ignored. Either you become the victim (for not following rules) or you end up someone who follows rules (like what happened to Kingston). Here's something I found on Facebook : The Price of Paper Laws Kingston Ralph Ko Cheng was 23. A Monash university graduate, a talented musician, and a café owner, he moved back to Cebu to build a life. That life ended on a pedestrian crossing near his home. A speeding Toyota Innova hit him with such force it threw his body into a utility pole. The driver, 21-year-old Sean Andrew Pajarillo, had already hit a parke...

A BORING Rainy Evening Made Me Watch "Jacqueline Comes Home"

I remember reading a lot and I mean a lot of bad reviews on Jacqueline Comes Home . After many years of deciding not to watch it, I decided to watch it out of sheer boredom . I watched Give Up Tomorrow (read my review here ) before this lackluster film, and even read the Supreme Court of the Philippines decision. For people who are curious about this incorrigible law student I ran into a few years ago--I'm not going to name her out loud. I wouldn't be surprised if this law student (I believe she's a lawyer now and I'll refer to her only as Atty. Naunsa Ba Ni (who also got married and I'll call her husband Atty. Imbento Ug Istorya meaning To Invent Stories), to avoid direct confrontation since I feel she's not worth arguing with) would use the film Jacqueline Comes Home as "proof" of the "infallibility" of the Supreme Court decision, even when Given Up Tomorrow presented a lot of proof that something was horribly wrong with the Philippine ju...

A Business Graduate's Reviewing History Blog

Search This Blog