I HEARD the daughter of news anchor and reporter Doris Bigornia is seeking financial help to cover the gargantuan bills that she had incurred since she got hospitalized last month.
Nikki Bigornia put up a fundraiser called, “#FundingDoris” where kind-hearted individuals may send their help. It was learned that the family needs at least P1.5million to cover her hospitalization.
Doris suffered a heart attack in February and had to undergo a heart bypass surgery. She is reportedly slated to undergo a second operation so she can be installed with a pacemaker. A month since, Doris remains at the intensive care unit and we all know how costly that is.
“We are knocking on everyone’s kind and generous hearts to help us in raising funds for mommy’s hospitalization. As a single mom, juggling her career and family, we are thankful that mommy has been able to provide for the family on her own,” Nikki said in her fundraising campaign. Doris earned the tag “Mutya ng Masa” for her down-to-earth character that endeared her to the masses. She is one jolly fellow who is always grounded and who never lets her status get to her head, unlike others, sorry to say.
Before her attack, she co-anchored a program called “SRO: Suhestyon, Reaksyon at Opinyon,” with her equally funny partner, Alvin Elchico. They had a chemistry no other tandem can rival. I know ‘cause there were times when I would tune in and even join in the banter by texting my share to Doris, whose happy disposition is simply contagious.
Please join me in praying for her swift and full recovery. We need more people like Doris in the media industry.
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There seems to be a tiff between government implementers of COVID-19 protocols and the Catholic Church authorities recently.
This was after the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases issued Resolution No. 104 suspending all mass gatherings and religious actdivities from March 22 to April 4, 2021.
This was triggered by the alarming rate at which COVID-19 cases recently soared in an unprecedented manner which put the country not only back to square one but, as how some experts described, even ‘ten steps backward.’
Even Manila Mayor Isko Moreno saw the need to dissuade mass gatherings and also issued an order disallowing such Holy Week-related activities that are certain to draw crowds and thus raise the possibility of virus transmission.
Himself a devout Catholic, Mayor Kois called on the faithful to continue observing the Lenten season by way of solemn prayers which he said can be done within the safety of the home, citing that one’s relationship to God is a personal one.
The national government, through Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, was firm and clear that the IATF decision must be followed to the letter.
Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo says the Archdiocese will not violate the rules on mass gatherings and that only 10 percent of the total capacity in churches will be allowed inside.
He says it is not a defiance against the IATF but merely an affirmation of the right to worship and asked the government to clarify about mass gatherings. I myself am a Catholic and I am sorry to say that I just could not side with Bishop Pabillo on this matter. We are in a state of public health emergency and at the rate COVID took a resurgence recently, we should all do our share to help the national government contain it.
It is easy to interpret what ‘mass gathering’ means. It’s not rocket science. Why, even special occasions like weddings, wakes and burials limit the number of attendees to only ten persons and ten percent capacity in Churches would definitely spell at least a hundred in attendance.
Virtual masses are already being done and this can be levelled up during the Holy Week. Catholic teachings say that God is everywhere and you can talk to him anywhere and anytime you want. While it is true that the separation of the Church and State is ‘inviolable’ under the Constitution, the same also provides that State ‘shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.”
Besides, the government is not doing this out of whim or caprice. There is a compelling reason which puts the lives and safety of all Filipinos on the line.
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Jokjok (from Eliseo de Lima of Marikina City) —Amo: Hoy Inday, paalisin mo nga yung pulubi na nakatanghod sa labas ng gate natin.. (Lumabas si Inday) Inday: Off you go! Under no circumstance this house would relent to such unabashed display of vagrant destitution!/Pulubi: OMG!! I’m so ashamed! Such a mansion of social climbing freaks! (nakakuha na ng katapat si Inday!)
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