Playing with Fire
P-noy’s descending popularity
By Gonzalo Duque
HAPPY Holidays!
No, not exactly, we mean, happy reunion with our loved ones who have already departed to their saintly lives.
You know, on All Saints Day, this columnist has always had the personal experience of feeling the blessings of our departed parents.
We believe very strongly that in their different status now — living in another dimension — they still have a role to play in guiding our lives.
We always visit their tombs, pray for them and, most importantly, to them. We tell you, they still guide us.
Let’s pray for their souls.
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Media accounts in print, broadcasts and TV say that the popularity of President Aquino has gone down.
This is understandable. We have lately been bombarded with multi-billion corruption issues and charges leveled against government officials from the highest councils down to the barangay level.
It’s disturbing enough that in the Senate, no less than the supposedly most trusted officials led by former Senate President Johnny Enrile, Senate President Pro- Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and super Senator Bong Revilla have been accused of a having links with pork barrel queen Janet Lim Napoles of defrauding the government of millions of public funds.
We all know that if these stolen funds were properly used for economic development, it would be safe to say that the Philippines would have jumped several levels up in the circle of fast-developing countries.
Back to the recently held barangay elections.
Did you know that the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) for barangays is not audited unlike that in the Senate and Congress?
So you see, there’s a lot of questions on the manner we’re mishandling governance in the barangay level.
As we all know, the barangay is the basic unit of governance. The public looks up to our barangay leaders for guidance and direction in their lives but it seems our policy makers have seriously overlooked the much needed care and attention in instituting proper systems governing barangay council affairs.
But it is incumbent upon our policy makers to seriously take another view in preventing the much vaunted barangay democracy into falling down.
Reforms are in order on the most basic issue – the money issue which, as we all know, wrote finish to the life of the barangay SK. Kwartatikel ang pumatay diyan.
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If you’d ask us, we consider as Pnoy’s penchant for lumping up this administration’s woes on the past administration.
Ok lang sana yan kung sa first two years niya, but he is still at it even in his 3rd year.
Medyo mali na ata ito, mga igan. Lumalabas na vindictive, at parang batang mapaghanap ng kasalanan ng iba. It’s the easiest resort of the cry babies, this penchant to blame others.
You know what, there was one Philippine president who never did such a thing, and he has remained well liked up to now. You know whom we are referring to – our very own steady Eddie, former President Ramos.
Hindi marunong mag bad mouth ng tao. What he preoccupied himself with was to advance the nation, to move forward, kaya we are here where we are.
He has remained presidential.
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Of the winners in the last barangay polls, we want to felicitate Julia Ann Fernandez-Perez of Pantal and Brian Cua on Pogo for their victory.
We have personal friends who did not make it. To Angel Gumarang whose expected victory was spoiled by his cousin Percy Ceralde Torio whom he defeated soundly in a pre-convention balloting, our advice is for him to stick to sport coaching at LNU. Mas sikat pa ron. And there were other oldies who were hard headed in insisting they could still win in the barangay council contests.
We want them to heed Dirty Harry’s advice, “man has to know his limitations.”
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