MIKE ELIOT

DEAR MS. Sheila Coronel,

Marlene is the quintessential Filipino, a class by herself, not only for her spectacular contribution to graft-busting, but also for the brave role she played in the field of "activist" community journalism.

I do not know her but her passion for redress of wrongs will forever be remembered. She never surrendered her values and principles in the midst of an apparently terrifying writing and physical environment that she chose to live in.

If only to prove that a "pen is still mightier than the sword", I hope a movie is made of her colorful — sartorially or otherwise — life. She was a Bonnie Parker in reverse.

How old is/are the child/ren? Please provide us with her family's home address. We want to know more about the plight of her orphaned family. I never thought Marlene's kind of a crusader (a part-time Tupperware sales lady, oh my God) exists in the Philippines, especially in the countryside where I'm sure the practice of investigative journalism is not good for the journalist's health, as opposed to the advantage enjoyed by your fiery/hard-hitting Manila columnists who are already rich and surrounded by bodyguards - provided by themselves or the government, I suppose.

I hope the life of Marlene will not be wasted in vain.

Very truly yours,

Mike Eliot
Canada