Good luck, Mayor Al

By Gonzalo Duque

SEOUL, South Korea – Can’t help shed a tear when I see enormous advancement by other countries.  Most often, I told myself when I was in the United States, “ano kaya ang naging  kasalanan ng Pilipino at hindi makaahon sa kahirapan at di makatulad sa Amerika? 

And now, South Korea! Magnificent! South Korea is much smaller than the Philippines, but while I wrote this, I just rode in its ultra-modern bullet train which even makes the US’ Amtrak a Jurassic item. Ang layo ng Amerika sa teknolohiya!

I observed that while in the Philippines, the Congress is powerful because it has the power to enact the budget, while here, it’s the local governments that move the nation. This must be the reason their countryside is so advance.

As in other developed countries, nobody notices their government. Even their newspapers rarely report about political affairs, which devote 90 percent of their pages to progress, science, the arts and hi-tech.

The last day I left for Korea, I saw the Manila news headlines reeking of politics, the Speakership, political fighting, and so I told myself, ano ba yan?

Speaking of the speakership, the column of my neighbor said that it is already in JDV’s bag. Mabuti sana kung ganun, but the headlines said otherwise. Kumakasa pa si Pablo Garcia ng Cebu. And because of the congress leadership fight, nagaaway sina DILG Sec. Ronaldo Puno at Congressman Luis Villafuerte, both top leaders of Kampi.

When will this era of fighting in our country end?

Nakakalungkot. I remember the days of the Katipunan, nagpapa-patayan sina Bonifacio at Aguinaldo, which resulted in the death of the founder of the Katipunan.

While at this thought, I received a text message that said my San Beda colleague and fellow Varsitarian former Vice Mayor Teddy Manaois has been rushed to the hospital and was scheduled for a heart bypass.

Pare Teddy, if you are reading this, I am sending you my “get well soon” prayers as soon as possible. Bawasan natin yang inom at sigarilyo, ha, pare, our beloved city still needs you. Even if you are on vacation in politics, I know that with the election of Al Fernandez as our mayor again, your talents will again be harnessed.  And even if they are not harnessed, your   very   presence in Bonuan and in our city serves as a balm to our citymates. Mabuhay ka!       

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Someone just sent this message: “Sir, Congressman-elect Joe de Venecia said the cha-cha talk should be shelved for the sake of unity.”

If that is the case, I must congratulate the Speaker. Okay lang saakin yung Cha Cha dahil marami talaga ang obsolete na provisions sa ating konstitutusyon, but the procedure should not be thru the Constituent Assembly or People’s Initiative. Look at what happened to Banat in the last elections. The people are really mad at Cha Cha or/and the Con Ass and the People’s Initiative, and yet, may mga ginintuang objectives ang mga nagiisip ng pagbabagao ng ating Saligang Batas. Maybe this is not yet the time. I mean, this is not yet  the time to resurrect  it from the dead. Marami pang galit. Kaso kung tutuusin, nanalo lang ang mga “no” ng isang boto sa botohan ng ating mga mahistrado sa Supreme Court. Isa lang, pare ko. Pero yong galit, ay naku, hinubog yan  ng  mga propagandista. Natabunan tuloy ang mga magandagandang layunin ng mga Cha Cha advocates dahil sa propaganda.

Now, for the Cha-Cha advocates, if they want to make a score, which is just correct, I suggest they support my proposal for a Con Con (Constitutional Convention). Ipasa sa mga tao ang desisyon kung anong prosidyur ang gusto nila sa pagamenda sa konstitutusyon. In that sense, they will not blame anyone else.

*         *          *

I overheard that Mayor Benjie Lim was at the birthday party of comebacking Mayor Al Fernandez. That’s very good. I also heard that Speaker Joe had lunch with Mayor Al earlier.

That’s great! Tapos na ang boksing, back to normal na tayong lahat.  Many are asking what Mayor Al will do with the ongoing construction at Bugnay. Illegal daw sabi ng city engineering. Let’s see how our beloved mayor Al handles it. Al is a super local government exec. We honored him at LNU with a doctorate honoris causa  dahil sa kagalingan niya sa trabahong yan. Good luck, mayor Al. 

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/playing-with-fire/)

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