The Chan saga

 

A BREAKTHROUGH seems to be finally underway in the lingering animosity of the provincial government led by Gov. Amado Espino Jr. against the police provincial director, Senior Superintendent Marlou Chan.

Chan himself, who has maintained an unperturbed “I’ll see you in court” stance bordering on an “I don’t care” attitude, has at last expressed intent to go to the Capitol and have a talk with Vice Gov. Jose Ferdinand Calimlim Jr., currently the acting governor, to talk about the crisis. A visit to the Capitol in Lingayen is long overdue for Chan. It’s something that he should have done when he started at his post, a protocol he bypassed and that has in fact been one of the points raised by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan whose members have expressed full support to Espino to the point of passing a resolution last week declaring Chan persona non grata in the province.

Let’s hope the dialogue on Monday, June 17, will be fruitful. Compromise is necessary. That the law must be observed is primordial and if Chan truly is making headway in his campaign vs. criminality in Pangasinan, efforts should be made to retain him but not without amending the process by which he was appointed as chief of the Pangasinan police.

The Philippine National Police cannot act or be seen as above local government units. They have to operate and be viewed as a professional organization subordinate to it. At the same time, LGUs should also respect the professionalism of the men and women of the PNP organization who function under a chain of command principle.

Chan’s designation as officer-in-charge and eventually his permanent appointment took place during an intense period in Pangasinan with the heated campaign and election. It is not surprising that his posting has been tinged with political color. The election is over and the heat has died down. Set aside politics and let cool and rational heads prevail in the dialogue.

 

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Ghastly aberration

 

WHILE the economy grew once more, unemployment also grew.  April growth was at 7.8 percent, up from 6.7 percent only a while back.  However, more than three million Filipinos were unemployed six months into 2013, the highest since 2010.  Add to this the fact the stocks were likewise falling, not to mention the peso had again weakened against the dollar; it is now 43 pesos to a dollar.  The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said not to worry, adding the peso movement would not derail the BSP’s inflation forecast.  BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. also said the country’s “fundamentals” would continue to support the peso.  Said Tetangco:  “Daily moves [by the peso] won’t significantly impact our inflation forecast, but a sustained move in either direction would.”   Fine, fine.

But isn’t seeing more and more of our countrymen going jobless a ghastly aberration?  What is growth amid a sea of unemployed?

Unless our poor have food on the table, any economic upswing means nothing.

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