Punchline
Poor Mr. Lomibao
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
THE brouhaha over the RFID tag being implemented by the Land Transportation Office is really much ado over nothing that is, if this were the USA or China. Unfortunately for Mangaldan-son Art Lomibao, as LTO chief, he is the biggest collateral damage, not the LTO, not the mother agency Department of Transportation and Communication, not the Arroyo government.
The RFID as a technology is as old as World War II, where it was developed for espionage purposes. But this sinister purpose has since been adopted for commercial and industrial uses, essentially for tracking inventory, security, manufacturing, merchandising, and yes, establishing identities of employees by hundreds of multinational corporations and governments.
In my book, I’d call it the technology for efficient authorized data tracking and verification. (Please note the word ‘authorized’).
So if it’s useful, why the big fuss, you ask?
Like other common useful tools, RFID can be a crime syndicate’s or a notoriously corrupt government’s weapon against the people. I liken this to a sanitized steel chopstick that many Asian uppity restaurants serve as a sanitary and fashionable utensil for their customers. But in the hands of criminals, it can be their secret deadly weapon that can snuff the life of their target victims. Get my drift?
In truth, the uproar against the RFID sticker (and indirectly against Mr. Lomibao) is simply another manifestation of the complete distrust of the Arroyo government by our people. The contentious issue about human rights violation foisted on the issue by militants is enough to put the government on the defensive, no matter how valid the latter’s arguments are to keep the project.
So, poor Mr. Lomibao, speaking of being at the wrong place at the wrong time for the right purpose. He is now unfairly pictured as the greedy trapo who wants to raise funds for his 2010 campaign in the 4th district.
Given the people’s high level of distrust of Arroyo’s alter egos, this issue is definitely a no-win situation for Mr. Lomibao even if he disavows ownership of the project and claims only to be the ‘implementor’ till his face turns blue. His claim that it’s a project that was passed on to him by DOTC to implement still does not remove the suspicion that he takes a sizable cut from its sale of the ‘overpriced’ tags to motorists. Perhaps if he had not expressed his plan to enter the congressional derby, he would not be vilified in national media today. But then again, there is the 2010 campaign, a good 5 months away from today. As the ‘enforcer’, he will still not likely escape suspicion as the bagman for the Arroyo candidates.
As I see it, he only has three options to get out of this dilemma and spare his own integrity as a public servant: 1) To personally recommend the postponement of the implementation of the project until after 2010 election; or 2) To resign as LTO chief today if the project will likely proceed under his watch at this time 3) To stay on as LTO chief but announce he’s not running in any elective position in 2010.
For as long as he remains LTO chief and the project is implemented before 2010 elections, notwithstanding the outcry against it, he will be seen as the primary ‘beneficiary’ in the Arroyo government. Not good.
* * * * *
As a sidebar to Mr. Lomibao’s predicament, it doesn’t help his case for people to know that among those who established the legality of the RFID project was DOTC’s able point-person – Assistant Secretary Jojo Guadiz of Dagupan City. Remember the Councilor Guadiz of the Benjie Lim era who laid the ‘legal’ premise for the purchase of the overpriced land in San Jacinto ostensibly for a sanitary landfill? The same councilor who headed the finance committee and defended the purchase of overpriced streetlights and dredging machine and the costly construction of the Malimgas market? Remember the case of the aborted construction of the Metro Estate building in Magsaysay Market? If my memory doesn’t fail me, he worked in tandem with then city legal officer Geraldine Baniqued who is now frantically defending a questionable contract of the Malasiqui government with the Magic Group of companies, in her capacity this time as provincial legal officer.
So enough of ‘legal’ opinion and studies of government committees.
* * * * *
CONGRATS TO THE CHAMPS. Congratulations are in order to the Lyceum Northwestern U basketball squad for winning the pennant of the PRISSA-UCAAP. The victory was particularly sweet for LNU president Gonz Duque’s Dukes because the squad was composed of true blue homegrown boys! When most colleges think that the formula for clinching championships overnight is to import crack players from other commercial teams, suit them up in school’s colors and voila, a chance at bringing home the trophy. LNU chose to do it the old tested way – develop your own students academically and physically through the years in order to be competitive. Take a bow LNU!
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
