When Rotarians fail their 4 – Way Test

By Ermin F. Garcia Jr.

All the Rotary Clubs in the region and the province now have a chance to redeem themselves as genuine advocates for truth after failing to live up to their own standards in 2005.

All the clubs were eerily silent and refused to even raise a token manifestation of indignation when then DA Usec. Joojoc Bolante refused to appear before the senate in 2005 to testify over the P2 billion fertilizer scam. Bolante, as treasurer at the US headquarters, was then the highest Filipino-serving Rotarian in the prestigious international body!

Rotarian Jocjoc is back and God knows if he will do a Garci-performance at the senate. But for the sake of Rotary’s own credence, and for the local Rotarians own integrity, they must now come forward as Rotarians and challenge Mr. Bolante to take the Four-Way Test before finally deciding to say anything at the senate or to the media.

But when Pangasinan Rotarians themselves only pay lip service to the Test when applied to their informed knowledge about the fertilizer scam, how can they be expected to stand up for truth?

I am certain that other Rotary Clubs will finally speak out against the ‘improprieties’ committed by Rotarian Jocjoc, I only wish Rotary International would be told later that the clubs in Pangasinan were among the first to challenge Rotarian Jocjoc.

If they won’t, then they deserve to be in Bolante’s company in Rotary — and that should give our people reason to expect more Rotarians to act and think like their fellow Rotarians – Mr. Bolante and his patron, FG Mike Arroyo!

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JOE DE V’S CREDIBILITY AS CRUSADER. It certainly looks like what we felt should have happened more than a year ago is finally going to happen.

I refer to former Speaker Joe de V’s spilling the beans on the Arroyo administration. His son Joey said he will formally endorse the impeachment complaint upon his return next week.

But why didn’t he just sign it before he left? People wonder whether his pronouncement is yet another empty threat and promise. That he didn’t sign and again only promised to do a good turn was again another lost opportunity to boost his claim that he can lead a moral crusade and revolution.

Unfortunately for him, each day he delays his testimony he becomes more vulnerable to charges of political convenience and opportunism. Even his sudden turnaround from not opting to endorse it for delicadeza, to his decision now to endorse it out of a sense of duty is again indicative of his indecision or ambivalence in exposing the anomalies in the Arroyo administration.

Is he or isn’t he?

His advisers ought to tell him that if he doesn’t speak out and sign his name pronto, he will soon be laughed out not only by his erstwhile allies but by those who want to believe in him. Failing again to act on his word again, all his next threats and promises “to tell all” will soon be met with derisive and mocking “ho-hums“!

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NEW 1400 LOOSE FIREAMS. Guv Spines, in his early defense of his ‘Shotguns-for-kapitans‘ program, said his office will issue the guidelines that will cover the distribution and use of the shotguns. That was two months ago.

Today, the guidelines are nowhere to be found because Guv Spines decided to play the “pass the proverbial hot potato” game ostensibly on the advice of provincial legal officer, Geraldine Baniqued and his provincial administrator Raffy Baraan.

So Guv Spines quickly tossed it initially to the provincial board hoping they’d be stupid to do it. The gallant board members caught the ‘hot potato’ like good onor-onors to save the game. But just as they were about to craft the set, they decided the potato was too hot, and tossed it back to Guv Spines. But the governor would not be caught holding it. And voila, he tossed it to the provincial police!

And what has the new provincial director done? P/Sr. Supt. Percival Barba is still stuck with the hot potato and dares not toss it back to his ‘idol’. It appears he is bent on holding on to it refusing to issue the guidelines till his fingers burn, simply hoping the potato will soon cool off.

So, why is everyone afraid to issue the guidelines for the education of the kapitans? Simple. Anyone who issues the guidelines becomes criminally and administratively accountable for the indiscriminate distribution of the shotguns and the expected misuse of the same by the unlicensed kapitans.

Bottomline, we have 1400 new loose firearms in the province! (Note: the Capitol didn’t buy 1330 pieces of shotguns as claimed but 1400 as declared by the supplier).

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MANGALDAN PROMOTING GAMBLING TO KIDS. Parents in Mangaldan are up in arms protesting the proliferation of ameneng (video karera) in their communities.

They strongly suspect that there is official collusion and protection being accorded these illegal video operations because these have managed to operate in at least 8 barangays, and have been openly soliciting school children to play those video games to the consternation of the parents!

If Mayor Herminio Romero and police chief Geraldo Roxas don’t raid and arrest the operators to put a stop to these illegal operations immediately, then the parents have reason to believe that they are, indeed, the protectors of this vile illegal gambling contraption that preys on children.

Paging Guv Spines and PD Smiley Barba, will you stand up for the kids?

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REMEMBERING KARINA. Yesterday, November 1, our family observed the 45th death anniversary of the youngest in our brood of five, Karina. She drowned off the beach in Dagupan, at age 11, 6 days shy of her 12th birthday.

As those of you who might have read about her (and my father) in Fr. Arsenio Jesena’s “Ermin & Karina” know by now, her short yet meaningful life was devoted to helping raise funds for the Catholic missions, and inspiring my father to do his best.

That she predicted her own death on the day the gates of heaven were open, told us that she was, indeed, God’s child. Through her, my father retraced his steps back to our Lord. Through her, the bonding in the family has become closer, unshakeable to this day.

Our family has been blest to have had her as a sister, daughter and now our intercessor.

(Readers may reach columnist at punch.sunday@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/
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