The
discovery of a dead oarfish floating in the waters off Barangay (Village) Doljo
in Panglao town had sparked debates and discussions on social media whether
oarfish can predict earthquakes.
According
to Lampell Cloma, the dead oarfish was found floating in the sea on Wednesday
afternoon in Barangay (Village) Doljo this town.
Cloma,
24, said that around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, a fisherman Gomer Milanes found the
oarfish. With the help of another fisherman, they brought the oarfish to the
shore.
It
was not known how the fish died and how it ended up near the beach. However,
according to Cloma, the gills were fresh.
Since
their sightings are rare so not much is known about the behavior of the oarfish,
residents were worried and afraid when they saw the oarfish.
Stories
proliferated linking the earthquake to incidents of oarfish beaching that
prefaced a disaster.
“Nakurat
ug nahadlok mi pagkakita namo kay naa lagi daw meaning basta mogawas na isdaa
(We were terrified because it has meaning when it can be seen on the surface),”
said Cloma.
Another
resident Marina Guibone knelt on the sand, prayed with fervour, and made the sign
of cross when she the oarfish.
“Kuyaw
nga tilimad-on (It’s a bad omen),” said Guibone.
Cloma
said it was their first time to see an oarfish in the village.
She
said that around 6 p.m., a municipal employee measured the oarfish which was 15
feet.
Oarfish
is sea creature living in a deep water and can be rarely spotted in shallow
waters.
Some
experts believe that the deep-sea creatures living more than 1,000 ft. under
the sea are very sensitive when it comes to fault movements and nature
activities. They were living in the deep waters so they can easily detect any
ground movement.
In
Japanese folklore, the oarfish is known as the “Messenger from the Sea God’s
Palace” and appears on beaches to predict earthquakes.
An
oarfish was found on Feb. 8, two days before the 6.7-magnitude earthquake that
hit Surigao City.
A
magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Bohol province in 2013.
***
3 death penalty votes that surprised us
Our
representatives- Rene Relampagos (1st District), Erico Aristotle Aumentado (2nd
District), and Arthur Yap (3rd District)- went along with the majority, voting
“Yes”.
Only
54 voted “No”, and one abstained for the reintroduction of death penalty up to
the final voting on Tuesday.
Yap
based his vote on the survey through social media and his district which showed
majority of the respondents preferred death penalty.
In
a statement, Yap said that it was not a decision lightly reached even as more
than a great majority of those polled voted affirmatively for the body of
crimes outlined in the original bill.
“It
is not that the Third District of Bohol is populated by blood thirsty people.
And surely, let it not be said that we love God less. It is just that my
District believes that when one commits barbaric acts against our fellow man,
such as rape, murder, kidnapping, treason, piracy and more, that perpetrator
has also given up his right to live among civilized men and women,” Yap said in a statement.
“The
Government sees the death penalty as the natural consequence of justice paid by
a convicted felon for having robbed the lives of others. But this should not
mean that the Government must focus on sending as many people to meet this
penalty. The Government must instead continue strengthening institutions and
programs that deliver basic services that create opportunities for its citizens
to live decently and honorably. When income rises and poverty decreases, the
scourge of drugs will naturally abate,” Yap said.
Aumentado
said he preferred that it would include murder, rape and plunder as originally
proposed.
“I
was at first inclined to abstain, finally decided to vote “Yes” on the second
and the third reading, considering the watered-down version,” he said.
Aumentado
said House Speaker Bebot Alvarez assured him that rape, murder and plunder
would have their own death penalty bill that will be more specific.
“In
totality, I want rape, murder and plunder
to have death as penalty. They are equally as heinous as selling drugs.
However, since the measure was cut down to only one punishable act in focus, it
helped me to come up with a stand,” he said.
In a statement, Relampagos said that human
rights does not only refer to the rights of the accused but to all citizens.
“I
voted yes an affirmation of hope for the future and for a culture of peace. The
fact that hundreds of thousand surrendered under the governments drive against
drugs show the manifest vastness of our problem against drugs. It is high time
that we strengthen our fight against it. If we do not do anything about it, we
can just imagine where we will be a few years from now. Hundreds of thousand
more?” he said.
He
said he voted yes an affirmation of the country’s shared fight drugs.
“You
name it, drugs destroys life, liberty and property. It destroys families and
communities. It destroys good governance and integrity in the public service.
It destroys trust in the Maker of life. I join it the fight against it,” he
said.
Tagbilaran
resident Bienna Ursula Bautista Cornacchia, 29, had expressed her support for
death penalty for drug addicts who committed heinous crimes.
“I
am in favor of death penalty for specific crimes such as murder, homicide and,
rape, especially those done unto minors and children. And if not, perhaps
castration without anesthesia would serve as a good punishment for sex
offenders. They should have thought of that. However, for drug-related cases,
as long as they have not committed heinous crimes such as rape and murder, they
can go to jail for as long as the court decides or have one finger cut to teach
them a lesson. Harsher punishment is necessary. Death penalty can be a good
punishment for certain crimes but not for all crimes,” said Cornacchia.
Some
Boholano Catholics maintain that the death penalty is a violation of the right
to life and an unauthorized by human beings of God’s sole lordship over life
and death.
“Our
Philippine Constitution guarantees our right to life,” said Juanito Niluag, 43.
“The
direct and voluntary killing of a human being is always gravely immoral,” he
added.
He
suggested that the justice system should be improved first before death penalty
will be imposed again.
“I
was not surprised because Boholano solons have almost always kowtowed to the
ruling party. But it's still sad to be proven right this way,” said cultural worker
architect Liza Macalandag who is in Netherlands. “Death penalty, which has been
proven to stop criminality, is regressive, inhumane and just plain wrong. This
Congress has made in humans of us all.”
Bishop
Alberto Uy of the Diocese of Tagbilaran said on his Facebook account that imposing
death penalty to the offenders could not guarantee that it gives justice and
peace to the victims.
In
Bohol, the devotion of the people to religion gave rise to numerous old stone
churches before it was damaged due to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the
province in 2013. In Tagbilaran City, tricycles have biblical quotes.
***
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