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We join the family of the late CHED regional director Dr. Enrique “Eking” Grecia in their hour of deep bereavement.

He succumbed last Thursday due to multiple organ failure. He refused to the end to undergo dialysis treatment. His kidney trouble put a final period to his very distinguished career in government.

He was a good man and a decent friend.

I would never forget him.

In the oral defense for my Master of Laws at the University of Southern Philippines years back, he made it easy for me to hurdle the panel of interrogators.

He always had an answer. And he was quick to the draw. He practically became my instant adviser.

* * *

Every time he discussed business matters with the family, he always had a smart suggestion.

And a warning too – never trust your in-laws (sons or daughters-in law, that is). Trust only your children, he would say. Your in-laws could mean trouble in the near future, he would add as he wrapped up his narration of factual incidents.

* * *

It was not difficult to like him.

Unlike other Ilongos that I know, Sir Eking was a good conversationalist. He could tackle any topic under the heat of the sun.

He was also a simple man with simple tastes.

He claimed to be an expert in preparing some foods, Pansit Molo, for instance. I missed the chance to taste his Pansit Molo because this was a special treat reserved only for his colleagues at the CHED regional office.

He also knew how to choose nice fish and seafoods.

And I got a first-hand experience of his expertise when he went with me to Manga Market to buy fish. He picked those kinds that were not necessarily expensive but were very delicious when cooked. Some of those he picked were the kinds that I would normally ignore because of my limited knowledge of fishes.

How he loved to demolish one bottle of fresh tuyom or sawaki which was just an appetizer for him, before we devoured the main courses on the table.

He had no care in the world about the uric acid in the sawaki or tuyom.

* * *

His death poses a big challenge to his daughter.

His daughter is taking the Bar.

How she mourned and grieved when she discovered that her father was already dead. Her mother and other members of the family initially tried to hide the fact of death because they did not want to disturb her preparation for the Bar.

But the daughter soon became suspicious. She went home unannounced and proceeded to the hospital to check on the condition of her father.

That was when she got the bad news.

* * *

Meanwhile, the last time she was here, Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta promised to hire more lawyers to beef up the lawyers of the Public Attorneys Office (PAO).

She made the promise after her visit to the city and provincial detention and rehab centers. Many prisoners who are in jail waiting for the disposition of their cases do not have lawyers to defend their causes.

As PAO national chief, Acosta said she would do something.

And we believe her.

* * *

But why are the PAO lawyers deserting the PAO?

Because of a stupid policy, one PAO lawyer told me last week.

A PAO lawyer has been with PAO for the last 3 years, on a temporary basis.

PAO policy says he will only get regular appointment after 5 years.

As such, he has to apply for a renewal of his appointment every year.

For 3 years, he did just that.

So why did he abandon PAO?

* * *

There is this latest policy of PAO that requires an orientation seminar in Manila, among others, for non-permanent PAO lawyers.

Why should I be required to undergo an orientation seminar in Manila every time I renew when I had been appearing and attending to PAO cases for the past 3 years now, this was the question that confronted the PAO lawyer.

When Bohol PAO chief Isabelo Digaum asked for “leniency” of this requirement, Acosta said she could not do anything because that is the law.

So instead of applying for a renewal, the PAO lawyer simply resigned.

At present, there are only 5 PAO lawyers, plus 1 in Talibon and another 1 in Carmen.

Severely undermanned, Digaum said they could not do anything to address the problem.

When I asked if there are applicants, Digaum said initially, there were some who expressed interest.

But when informed about the requirements like tests and interviews, Psychiatric and other battery of tests in Manila without certainty of acceptance because he/she needs to have a “Padrino” who would work for his employment, they suddenly turned tail.

There are no more applicants as of the present, Digaum said.

Terribly loaded with cases in several courts, can one really expect a PAO lawyer to be well-prepared for the day’s cases?

* * *

Nowadays, anything Chinese in the market is suspect.

There is this story about a microphone that electrifies the user because it is grounded.

There is this other story about electrical components that are very cheap but guaranteed not to last a month.

Or, carpentry tools that look good but easily break when put in actual use. The list is endless.

There are even cellphones that are sold at half the price in other stores. Sometimes, even lower than half of the actual price. Naturally, the user takes risks in using the cheap cellphone.

They are sold in one of the more popular stores in the city which has also branches in Cebu, Dumaguete and other cities of the country.

So why cheap?

Because these items are all Chinese-made.

The latest furor about tragic deaths of infants in China who have ingested contaminated Chinese milk products has no doubt renewed apprehensions about the quality of Chinese products.

At least 4 babies have died and some 6,244 other infants have become sick after consuming melamine-contaminated milk products.

The kids have developed kidney stones and other complications.

The scandal snowballed late this week, with the Chinese government admitting that melamine had been discovered in regular milk and other dairy products such as ice cream, leading to mass recalls across the country.

Melamine is an industrial chemical normally used in the manufacture of plastics but which can be used to mask low protein levels in foods.

The deadly chemical was used by suppliers to cover-up the watering down of milk. The nitrogen-rich compound was added to watered-down milk to get past quality inspections, which check for nitrogen to measure protein levels.

The chemical was also found in Chinese pet food exported to the U.S. that was blamed for the deaths from kidney failure of thousands of cats and dogs last year.

* * *

And that’s not all.

Borne out of the milk contamination scandal, there are other highly questionable Chinese foods that need to be closely examined.

These foods find their way to the market. In fact, some of these foods are displayed in our local department stores and malls.

So what are these foods?

Steroid-fed pigs and chickens, fish pumped up with hormones so they can live in polluted water and dumplings containing illegal amounts of chemicals are just some of the well-known problems in China.

China has a history of cover-ups involving health and safety scandals.

In one of the worst cases, China initially tried to deny the existence of the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and only owned up after it spilled over into other countries.

In 2004, at least 13 babies died of malnutrition in Anhui province after unscrupulous producers sold milk with no nutritional value. In July 2007, China executed the former head of its food and drug administration for taking bribes in exchange for approving unsafe medicines.

The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) has warned the consumers against Chinese milk products like milk, ice cream and yoghurt, among others.

More when we return, stay tuned for more. Comments, suggestions, write to salvadiputado@yahoo.com

Labels: bfad, CHED, china, Grecia, milk, PAO