PALMA DEAD,THE BODY RESTS IN ' APARTMENT' AT THE OVERCROWDED AND DIRTY LAOAG ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERY

Palma was not buried in this rich people's memorial park near the century's old RC Cemetery

     The blogger's nephew, Palmarin, 63, died three weeks ago. He had been performing his duties for his wife with Stage 4 cancer--washing her clothes, cooking for her, etc.  he had just cooked rice for lunch. It was a hot, windless day in a place near the classy Maharlika Memorial Park near the Padsan River. He decided to take a bath outside their little bungalow, using pump water. It was past ten in the morning. Suddenly, while pouring water on his frail body, he felt something and tried to stand but failed. He shouted for assistance from his brother and a sister nearby. He collapsed in their arms, and they took him to the hospital. On the way, one of the siblings noticed he was frothing in the mouth--what look like dirty thing were coming out of his mouth. In the hospital, he fell into deep sleep, snoring noisily. He died past two in the afternoon on the same day. 

     Palma's relatives will pay the RC P300 per year for his body' use of the more than  roughly 3,000 "apartments". If they can not pay for the rent for the past  five years, the RC will have to rent the apartment for another tenant. Inside the cemetery are grave plots which are rented higher.

     The blogger was doing his mathematics. For the 3,000 apartments, the RC has an annual income of P90,000. For the plots estimated to be roughly 2,000 and rented at say, P1,000 a year the annual income for the church is P200,000. Or almost P300,000 annual income.
     It is assumed that there is no caretaker of the cemetery, or if there are, maybe one or two? What's their monthly salary?  The RC has much money to hire people to clean the place on a daily basis and respect the dead.
 

DID HE REALLY KILL THE VICE-MAYOR?

The person that Roger Farinas was alluding to in his radio advertisement was the incumbent Laoag City Mayor. Did he really kill the vice-mayor during an altercation in his turf (hotel or was it in his own bar?) in the presence of the city police chief and a certain Melvin de la Cuesta, a journalist. Did he really pull the trigger that snuffed out the life of the young Chinese-Ilokano politician? Only the chief of police and the journalist know, and maybe his wife she is pitting against a so-called relative.

GREYHOUND BUS TO NEW YORK

Patricia, second sibling of Michelle and Ferdinand, was born in a Baltimore hospital. We saw the new-born baby the next day. Our nephew, a nurse in New York, called, inviting us to their place in New Jersey. Ferdinand saw us off at the Baltimore terminal of Greyhound. We left for NY before lunch, made a stopover in Deleware past 12PM and arrived at destination in the evening. While waiting for Carol and Rollie, we entered an Indian bookstore near the subway, perused books and magazines and purchased the best-selling " The Secret" by Australian writer Ronda Byrne. 

ISABELA BUSINESSMAN DROWNED IN MAGAT RIVER

A massive search and rescue operations has been launched for Isabela businessman Angelo Petines, 40, who drowned yesterday in a river in San Juan, Potia, Ifugao. Petines, son of Linda Petines, president of the San Mateo Rural Bank in San Mateo, Isabela were with three companions, hunting for papas (wild ducks) in the river, a tributary of the Magat River, according to Susan Gagarin, SMRB employee. She was quoting one of the companions of Angelo, saying that the businessman, in full hunting gear, boots and all, was crossing the swollen river when the accident happen. The river is one of several creeks and rivers that pour water to the Magat Hydroelectric Plant in Aguinaldo, Ramon, Isabela.

Magat HIgh Dam