Punchline
An eye for an eye?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
WHAT was I thinking last week when I did my piece committing an embarrassing simple error on facts?
I mistook the authorization letter for the cutting of 88 dead and dying trees along the Manila National Road as coming from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), when it was the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that issued it.
I guess I was so wrapped up, no, madder than mad, about the deceitful, unscrupulous and criminal attempt of the DPWH regional office and its contractor R.A. Pahati Construction and Supply, Inc. to pull a fast one on the people of Pangasinan. They clearly attempted to kill and remove all trees, whether dead or living, with the intention of making the issue moot and academic, never mind if it’s found out later that the terms of the permit issued to them by DENR were completely ignored and violated.
What grates my and many others’ nerves is the knowledge that both DENR and DPWH Secretaries had committed to respect the sense of the provincial board to protect the century-old trees that make the MNR in Pangasinan look scenic but their underlings gave no thought to it
So what was I thinking? I was thinking of the many ways that Pangasinenses can perhaps make the DPWH regional officials, the inept DENR (regional)-PENRO-CENRO officials pay and suffer for their unforgivable and horrendous crimes against Mother Earth.
I did wonder how the biblical passage “An eye for an eye…” would apply in this case. I admit I remembered how a backhoe was used by the Ampatuans in Maguindanao to silence their enemies. hmmm…that, of course, was most unchristian and uncivilized, if not barbaric. Erase, erase.
Now, you know why I made that stupid mistake, and I am not making excuses for it.
* * * *
SHADES OF TRAPO POLITICS. I watched the separate political drama that saw both Senators Grace Poe and Chiz Escudero “offering” themselves to serve as the two highest officials in the land.
Obviously, Ms. Poe has already metamorphosed into an unthinking political animal, pandering to a populace that wanted to hear her promise a good life ever after.
She was simply great when she presided over the Senate investigation of the Mamasapano massacre. She held her own, calculating and firm, a very pleasant surprise from a neophyte senator in a chamber composed of 24 “republics.” She was forthright and proved to be a valuable statesperson worthy of respect.
Last week, she shed off everything about her that made her stand out to lead dramatically in the surveys. She was harping on her adoptive father’s name and character virtually as the knight in shining armor who fought against the bad and evil people. She conveniently forgot that FPJ was simply playing roles by the script and made money for it.
Then she said: “Gusto kong ipagpatuloy ang mga simulain ni FPJ!” Huh? Surely she could only mean she wanted to finish an unfinished FPJ movie because nobody certainly recalls what FPJ started in public service. He was never a public official, not even a member of the smallest non-government organization that went out to help stop cutting trees in Pangasinan or elsewhere.
This early, she has shown she has no qualms about winning an election not by her won merits and strengths but by the continued popularity of the name Poe, of FPJ, to be precise.
Shades of trapo politics. Sayang. Another so young, so early to be trapo.
* * * *
POE’S FAIRYTALE AND CHIZ. Ms. Poe glibly recited the litany of promises she said she would act on and deliver once elected – all 20 issues and concerns in one fell swoop! She became the most promising politico overnight! Someone must have made her believe that she can fool our people into believing that the country would be a paradise under her watch. Sayang po(e).
If she only researched how and why PNoy failed to deliver on his banner campaign promise – to make the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) a law – she would have learned to think twice than to promise resolutions to 20 decades-old issues.
She was saying, or made to say, anything to fuel the fairytale about her and her magic wand which Mr. Escudero himself knows is a bubble that would soon explode in her face. But why did Mr. Escudero, the ultimate and astute politico that he is, allows Ms. Poe to make all the promises he knows she could not deliver? Guess! Poor Ms. Poe.
* * * *
CRUEL BAPTISM OF FIRE. Here’s an interesting item that was buried under the tons of hallelujah by mesmerized supporters that met Ms. Poe’s declaration: Check out http://manilastandardtoday.com/mobile/2015/09/17/cousin-sheryl-against-poe-s-presidential-bid/. It reported the candid thoughts of Ms. Poe’s cousin who grew up with her, in sharp contrast to what Mr. Escudero obviously constantly whispers in her ear.
In a nutshell, “Actress Sheryl Cruz, a daughter of Rosemarie Sonora and a cousin of Poe, on Wednesday said that Poe is not yet prepared for the highest post in the land.”
“She’s not yet ready for the task, for the big responsibility. Everybody in your family is special to you [but] you don’t want to see somebody having a hard time most especially running the country,” Cruz said.”
I rest my case and I certainly wish Ms. Poe a lot of inner strength as she is bound to go through a most cruel baptism of fire that she would never have imagined, much less accustomed to. I can’t say the same for Mr. Escudero. He will survive the worst, in fact, he will even find more opportunities for himself each time a misfortune befalls another.
* * * *
MONEY POLITICS. In about three weeks, Pangasinan’s politics will invariably achieve an inclusive growth, a development that has been elusive to the national government and economy.
This early, re-electionists and wannabes will not be as concerned about their respective platforms and team line-up as much as computing and determining where and how to source funds for their respective campaign.
This is in fact is a worrisome period because drug lords and gambling syndicates see this period as a great opportunity to lock in and support candidates who will protect their illegal trade. They have the means that many local politicians don’t have.
So when voters who’ve made it a career to bilk candidates every 3 years make a beeline to candidate’s houses, you can be sure, a drug lord or a gambling syndicate is not too far away calculating their investment.
Then there are the hitmen-riding-in tandem ready to offer their services to wannabes and re-electionists who are inclined to believer that politics is also about elimination and subtraction of political foes. Tsk-tsk.
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
