PAST FORWARD / BERSALES
No other word but ‘Excelsior!’, a favorite of the recently-departed Stan Lee, best encapsulates my wish for Cebu Daily News as it moves permanently into cyberspace and away from the printed word.
I am but following the advice of Phineas T. Barnum (or simply P.T. Barnum), founder of the historically famous circus that bears his name, who once wrote: “Let your motto then always be ‘Excelsior’, for by living up to it, there is no such word as fail.” Excelsior is a Latin word that, loosely translated, means something like ‘onward and upward to greater glory.’ Thus, Excelsior, CDN!
This column of mine first joined CDN in 2004 and I must admit I that when I was called to a meeting for columnists in November last year, I already sensed that the end of the hardcopy was coming and we would soon move more permanently to cyberspace. I was not wrong.
Of course as columnists, we are no strangers to the nature of this platform. Perhaps a decade or more ago, CDN started appearing online in the inquirer.net website. Nevertheless, this move from printed word to cyberspace is not without apprehensions. Still, it cannot be denied that the internet is now the main venue for knowledge exchange and dissemination, especially among the young. And things are extremely promising to those who embrace this platform early on.
Alas as with all good things, something bad seems to tarry along and cyberspace is now also replete with fake news. This is where CDN will be of tremendous value as it continues its independence in ferreting out the truth and reporting the news objectively and this time even faster as there is no more need for the printing press to run any hard copy.
While I will miss holding a hardcopy of CDN, I am delighted that it joins thousands of other publications, dailies and academic journals that have found their niches in cyberspace. Excelsior, CDN!
***
One can say the same for the members of the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church as it moves forward into 2019 with renewed vigor to save the Patria de Cebu building, the one you see across the street facing the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. In two previous articles in this space, I have presented the need for the public to see why the building needs to be saved from the wrecking ball.
Three meetings have since transpired, the latest one not only with the very owners of Cebu Landmasters Inc., its assigned architect in this project, Manila- based Bong, but also (surprise!) the Archdiocesan Administrative Board. Everyone has since read and heard that in that meeting which we thought was intended to seek a compromise to save the front of the Patria, things went south and the Admin Board instead voted to go on with the project and not save any existing building.
The forum to save the building is no longer within the Archdiocesan hierarchy as a result. It is now up to the general public and most especially lay Catholics whether this campaign must continue. History was made in that crucial third meeting, the same history that will judge whether the decision to demolish was the right one.
In this period when we observe the feast of the Santo Niño, I certainly hope the faithful will reflect on this issue and make a stand—and soon.
Pit Señor to all!
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
