Parents of food-poisoning victims want people responsible identified

A GROUP of parents have called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to step in and identify the people who should be held responsible for the food poisoning of close to 90 workers of the Gaisano malls in the city a few weeks ago.

The group, composed of parents of some of the victims, said it was dismayed over the failure of local authorities to go public with the results of their investigation into the food poisoning.

"It would be hard for workers to file a complaint. They are only ordinary workers,’’ a parent of one of the victims said. He requested anonymity, saying his daughter is still working as a cashier at one of the Gaisano malls.

The group said it was puzzled because the team created to investigate the Gaisano incident has yet to release a clear investigation report.

"We want to know the result of the investigation and their recommendation. Who should be made to pay?’’ the group asked.

They said they were happy at first because many investigators and doctors came. ‘‘But all of a sudden, there was silence. It’s as if no investigation was ever made,’’ they said.

On the day Gaisano workers were rushed to hospitals, officials immediately formed a team composed of experts from the Department of Health (DOH), the city hall-run JR Borja Memorial Hospital and the state-run Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) to investigate the Gaisano incident.

Councilor Simeon Licayan, chairperson of the city’s health committee, also said at that time that a medical team from city hall led by Dr. Joselito Retuya was tasked to investigate. He said city hall’s actions would be based on the team’s recommedations.

"We’re still waiting... no one has really identified the people who should be held liable," the parents of the victims said.

Councilor Reynaldo Advincula said health authorities were certain the workers became sick after eating pancit (noodles) served by the employees’ cooperative. He however said the people who should be held liable have yet to be identified.
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"The Carmelite Code"

SEVERAL years before the publication of Dan Brown's thriller “The Da Vinci Code,” a group of nuns at the Carmelite Monastery in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines put up a mysterious sign that was never decoded. The sign showed an arrow that some Biblical archaeologists believed pointed to an underground vault that possibly contained the Holy Grail. The sign no longer exists today. Posing as cryptologist is Elson Elizaga. (Photo by CLARA MARIE ASUNCION Q. GONZALES ELIZAGA)

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THE YSALINA Bridge, also known as Carmen Bridge in Cagayan de Oro City will not be fully passable until next month because it will undergo a major facelift, reads a signboard placed near city hall. The City has started to experience worst traffic starting Sunday. (Photo by Cagayan de Oro Journal)

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Cardinal eyes legal suit vs 'The Da Vinci Code'

IN the latest Vatican broadside against "The Da Vinci Code," a leading cardinal says Christians should respond to the book and film with legal action because both offend Christ and the Church he founded.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Nigerian who was considered a candidate for pope last year, made his strong comments in a documentary called "The Da Vinci Code-A Masterful Deception."

Arinze's appeal came some 10 days after another Vatican cardinal called for a boycott of the film. Both cardinals asserted that other religions would never stand for offences against their beliefs and that Christians should get tough.

"Christians must not just sit back and say it is enough for us to forgive and to forget," Arinze said in the documentary made by Rome film maker Mario Biasetti for Rome Reports, a Catholic film agency specializing in religious affairs.

"Sometimes it is our duty to do something practical. So it is not I who will tell all Christians what to do but some know legal means which can be taken in order to get the other person to respect the rights of others," Arinze said.

"This is one of the fundamental human rights: that we should be respected, our religious beliefs respected, and our founder Jesus Christ respected," he said, without elaborating on what legal means he had in mind.

A transcript of the documentary, due to be screened in Rome later this month just before the release of the film version of the best-selling book at the Cannes Film Festival, was made available to Reuters.

The book, written by Dan Brown, has sold more than 40 million copies.

The novel is an international murder mystery centered on attempts to uncover a secret about the life of Christ that a clandestine society has tried to protect for centuries.

The central tenet of the book is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children.

Blasphemy

"Those who blaspheme Christ and get away with it are exploiting the Christian readiness to forgive and to love even those who insult us. There are some other religions which if you insult their founder they will not be just talking. They will make it painfully clear to you," Arinze said.

This appeared to be a reference to protests by Muslims around the world over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

Last month, another broadside against "The Da Vinci Code" was launched by Archbishop Angelo Amato, the number two official in the Vatican doctrinal office which was headed by Pope Benedict until his election last year.

Amato urged a boycott of the film and Arinze, like his fellow cardinal, also blasted the credibility of the book.

"'The Da Vinci Code' presents (Christianity) wrongly ... any film produced on the basis of that book is already in error from the word go, no matter how interesting it might appear," Arinze said.

Catholic group Opus Dei has told Sony Pictures that putting a disclaimer on the movie stressing it is a work of fiction would be a welcome show of respect toward the Church.

In the novel and film, Opus Dei is characterized as the latest in a series of secretive groups that worked over the centuries to obscure truths about Jesus Christ.

Opus Dei is a controversial conservative Church group whose members are mostly non-clerics and are urged to seek holiness in their everyday professional jobs and lives. It has rejected criticisms that it is secretive and elitist.

The movie, which is being released by Sony Pictures division Columbia Pictures, stars Tom Hanks. Sony Pictures is the media wing of Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. (Vatican News)