‘Betterer’

THERE’S a flood of good news this week on achievements made by municipal governments, particularly a couple of inland towns, proving that Pangasinan could soon become known not just for its beaches, the Hundred Islands National Park, and the Manaoag Church.

Rosales, a once sleepy agricultural town on the eastern side, has taken advantage of its good location on the crossroads of several provinces and along the main national highway to turn itself as the choice spot for branches of national government agencies. The town is lucky to have found a private citizen ready to donate the land for the complex, but the local government would have been instrumental in attracting the locators. In the case of Mangaldan on the western side, the town is a shining example of how to care for rivers, bagging a grand slam for the cleanest inland river award from the provincial government.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, who was in Pangasinan last week for the Pista’y Dayat celebration, again stressed the administration’s commitment in the pursuit of transparency. He talked about LGUs making “their best better”. To translate in Filipino slang: Betterer. Robredo was referring in particular to LGUs that have complied with the minimum requirements for disclosing to the people how public funds are being spent and how they should aim for the maximum goals. But betterer is a policy that could be universally applied in economic and environmental programs and good governance in general.

Rosales, for example, must now make sure that the resulting inflow of people from around northern Luzon will be managed well through traffic and transport management, the provision of support infrastructure, and overseeing the mushrooming of small businesses around the government center.  As for Mangaldan, it can develop an eco-friendly tourism program around its crystal clear rivers, which will open livelihood opportunities. Resting on laurels is not the way to go. It should be betterer.

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Resume speed

BEGINNING tomorrow (May 7), the lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona will argue for the acquittal of Corona before the 23 senator-judges as the impeachment trial, which started in December 2011, ends its one-month recess.

Corona’s defenders will attempt to obliterate the allegations of the prosecutors from Congress that Corona ought to be impeached mainly for culpable violation of the Constitution, mis-declaration of his SALN (Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net worth) and acquiring ill-gotten wealth, among other litanies of alleged wrongful actions committed by the top magistrate of the land.

Corona needs eight votes to earn acquittal, the prosecution 16 senators to win a conviction.

May the force of the law be with the right.

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