Crystal clear TRANSPARENCY and accountability in public service does not just involve clear and open reporting of how the national government, agencies and local government units spent the people’s money at the end of the year. That would simply be the second half of the process.

Reporting for duty THREE years ago, the ever-feisty Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago lashed at her colleagues in the Senate who were often late or absent during sessions. She was angry because the tardiness and absenteeism were delaying the discussion and passage of laws, which is the main job of the senators…

Keeping them home THE civil strife in Libya, a north-African country far away from the Philippines, has struck very close to home, not just because of its impact on global oil prices but more because of the tens of thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are there and needing…

In droga’s shadow THE provincial police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) are in close coordination, as they have always been, for efforts to curb the illegal drug problem in Pangasinan. However, they seem to be in disagreement recently as to how extensive the droga problem is in the…

Helping our “heroes” THE Philippines is no stranger to the grave problem of illegal drugs, itself hard-pressed in fighting a deeply entrenched criminal industry that is involved in the production, trading and distribution of such drugs as methampethamine, known locally as shabu. The government is thus sending the wrong message…