OH, WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN? Some members of the Biliran clergy might have started to take potshots at some local politicians related to the May 2004 elections. But there must be some case of "the pot calling the kettle black" here. Because both clergy and politicians seemed to have agreed, again (!), that the VIP (very important person) types may be separated from the common folk by barbed wire fences during the recent Naval fiesta evening activities. For the second straight year, barbed wires segregated well-heeled fiesta revelers from sandal-wearing spectators during coronation night, courtesy of the Naval municipal goverment with the virtual consent of the Biliran church authorities, at the Cathedral School of La Naval Grounds, across the old municipal compound with the unfinished gymnasium. The photo above was taken on fiesta morning, January 30, 2004.

QUIET FIESTA. The Naval Fiesta 2004 celebration last January 29-30 was probably the quietest in years. A picture tells a thousand words, and the above photo of Padre Inocentes Street, taken around noon on Fiesta Day, January 30, from near the corner of Sabenorio Street, shows downtown Naval with lower volume of vehicles and people than on ordinary days. Of course, it did not help that partisan politics seemed to have divided people into different clusters shying away from each other. But politics was not the only dividing factor. The acacia leaves to the right of the background belong to trees on the La Naval Grounds, which was fenced by barbed wires to keep ordinary revelers and watchers out during various evening affairs. (Photo courtesy of Engr. Cesar B. Orbeta, the webmaster's balikbayan uncle.)