Punchline
Insatiable greed?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
WHEN the cat is away, the mouse will play! Figuratively, that’s exactly what happened last week at the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod again.
The minority councilors (Luis Samson Jr., Nicanor Aquino and Guillermo Vallejos led by Minority Floor Leader Redford Erfe-Mejia) pulled a fast one on an unsuspecting e-gambling company. I’m not sure if their activity can be called a scam but it has the elements of it being one.
Consider the following circumstances.
The company Global Tech is eager to operate Peryahan, an online lottery game under the auspices of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes, in Dagupan City. (It’s actually a new dog collar for the Small Town Lottery that became a front for jueteng operations of gambling lords. It was the reason why PDu30 labeled PCSO as one of the most corrupt agencies).
To operate Peryahan, it needs an ordinance from the city council expressly authorizing the gambling activity.
Last October 10, there were only the four minority councilors inside the session hall. Physically, there was no quorum but they knew that quorum was not a problem since rules say councilors on official leave are considered present. Sleek!
The four came to the session hall clearly with a hidden agenda, with the full intent of passing a draft resolution that was not included in the agenda circulated prior. And they did!
The draft resolution merely said the council did not interpose an objection to the operation of Peryahan. And what do you know – the copy was quickly transmitted to Global Tech, not a day late.
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BAD HABITS NOT EASY TO DROP. So what was that exercise all about? It was a resolution that was passed, not an ordinance. It did not authorize the company to operate. It simply paves the way for a lobby for the ordinance. But why the haste to pass that resolution that really meant nothing?
What was in it for the four? Hmmm. Quick bucks? Recall that with the exception of Councilor Nic Aquino, the three were the ringleaders of the Judas 9 circa 2012! Remember why and how the MC Adore Hotel, a premium property of the city government, was sold for a song during a special session called by then Mayor Benjie Lim?
Is it about bad habits and insatiable greed rearing their ugly heads? Abangan!
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THE UNTOLD STORY. Since the war on drugs was launched by PDU30 in July, all news reports dwelt on statistics on those who surrendered, arrested, killed in police operations and summary executions of drug suspects by unidentified perpetrators.
The interests of the public were also drawn to debates and sensationalized claims of extrajudicial killings on account of the war on drugs.
Curiously, very little account is made public about the fate of the self-confessed drug pushers and users detained in local, district and provincial jails. The only known stat about life in jails is the fact that almost 70% of detained inmates are accused of drug-related crimes, from murder, homicide, robbery, rape, etc., a fact that made the Duterte administration submit that unless the drug trade is beaten, the peace and order situation will never improve.
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NO DATA. In Pangasinan, the provincial police’s intensified police operations have already resulted in the filing of cases against 731 drug personalities in courts. Relate that accomplishment to the overcrowding in our jails.
As it is, the Dagupan District Jail’s facility for 200 inmates already houses more than a thousand inmates. How many of the 731 drug suspects were brought to the Dagupan District Jail and further aggravated the situation? If not there, can other local jails fare any better?
Worse, as the committee hearings at the House of Representatives have borne out, the more than 16,000 inmates at the New Billibid Prison, have provided a stable market for shabu. How much have the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology authorities in Pangasinan done to make sure that there are no thriving illegal drug trade inside the jails in the province?
I even wonder if BJMP and the provincial health officials have attempted to establish how many of present inmates are hardcore drug addicts, and how many are moderate users? How many are being detained and charged for drug peddling? Curiously, how is it possible that detained hardcore addicts are able to cope with their addiction without access to a daily supply inside the jail? Logic dictates they have access!
Without these data, how can our government agencies be expected to plan on how to cope with the worsening conditions in our jails?
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D-DAY FOR CITY HALL. October 30 is a red letter day for the Dagupan City government.
Mayor Belen Fernandez said she gave the illegal fish pen owners only until October 30 to dismantle their structures still operating in the city’s rivers and tributaries.
City hall also gave the shed owners at the Tondaligan Park only until October 30 to dismantle their sheds to give way to the beautification activities in the area.
That makes two groups being made to meet an October 30 deadline!
Let’s hope both groups heed the ultimatum and neither group will end up asking for an extension. If one does, and Mayor Belen agrees again to extend the deadline, she will be hard put not to extend the extension for the other as well. When that happens, she must realize that her credibility will continue to sink lower if the deadline is extended again!
Her deadline to the illegal fish pen owners has been extended over and over since she assumed as mayor in 2013! This time she said, it’s the last! OK.
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MAYOR PDU30. Not a few I’ve talked to expressed uneasiness towards what appears to be the inclination of PDU30 to reject its traditional allies like the US and shift to China and Russia, both communist countries.
I’ve listened and closely observed PDU30s seeming agitated statements laced with profanities and in almost all cases, a clarification is issued by him or his key officials after a day or two. Even his supposed targets are careful with their responses, making sure the situations are not further exacerbated further by personal innuendos. These events are great lessons in world diplomacy, principally that alliances are not easily broken.
But, yes, I agree that we want to see PDU30 metamorphose fully into a full fledged President of the Republic, and not content with being the Mayor of the Philippines.
Having said that, PDU30’s pro-China (contra-US) statements should be viewed in the context of his oft-repeated vision – to maintain an independent policy in its foreign relations. This is a thought that we should already get used to – that US cannot be our only major ally.
The way I see it, he’s going to China not to threaten it if it doesn’t pull out of West Philippine Sea but to secure firm economic and trade concessions for the country. I will not be surprised if he announces that our fishermen will again be able to fish freely without any fear at the Scarborough Shoal when he returns, and more!
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