Playing with Fire
Rep. Toff becomes his own man
By Gonzalo Duque
WE have it on unimpeachable authority that youthful Congressman Christopher “Toff” P. De Venecia and Bishop Soc Villegas have crossed path on a recent issue – the death penalty bill.
By now, you, dear readers, must already have been informed that Bishop Soc was profoundly dismayed by Toff’s taking the side of those who favor the passage of the Death Penalty Bill into law.
The Bishop who heads the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese must be very angry because Toff is the son of his favorite former Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr. and former Cong. Gina de Venecia who must be presumed to be anti-Death Penalty. We heard Toff was anti- Death himself. Until…
Well, this is the crux of our column. The rumor says Toff has a sudden change of heart, that’s according to our grapevine. Was Toff influenced by power politics? Say, he doesn’t want to suffer the fate of PGMA?
How does his new tack sit with his beloved parents’ stand? No, we are not sure about JDV and Gina’s stand or stands on the issue.
Our point is that we’d like to presume that Toff, who is a journalist himself, artist and intellectual, decided to side with the President’s stand on so fundamental an issue because he thinks, he believes it is right.
We are privy to Toff’s concrete advocacies on the drug war; 100% supportive of the President’s.
Had you heard him speak and munch issues, you’d say Toff is on the way there, a place of greatness; he is intelligent and intellectual. And so, we submit, that he is not under any dictation; he is, his own man.
Oh, yes, maybe Toff took the line of pragmatism. Idealism, you know, borders at times on fantasy…. Unrealistic.
It’s on this account that we doff our hat to him and appeal to Bishop Soc, a friend of the De Venecia family, to be kinder and more broad-minded in understanding the position of Cong. Toff.
Ok ka, Toff. Take this from someone who opposed your erpat on two congressional collisions but we ended as friends.
* * * *
Have you read the PDI headline last Thursday? It was written by a foreigner, a New York Times reporter.
It’s very anti-Duterte.
Ang tanong: why does PDI allow a foreigner to write its headline story?
Naging komik ang PDI nyan a. Lumalabas na ang dyaryong yan ay anti-Duterte and possibly anti-Filipino!
We have our guess on who was behind the headline, a lobbyist against Digong.
Ang biktima dyan ay hindi lang si Digong, pati Filipino, and the whole concept of journalism.
We should denounce PDI for that obscenity.
* * * *
At presstime, our heart sank when we learned that Mayor Belen’s project to put up a water pumping station in Barangay Carael did not see the light of day. The digging activity hit a snag requiring another exploration try in other places in that barangay. Are we dismayed? More than that. But not giving up the idea even if we have ceased to be the chairman because of our SSS post.
Someone said, do you want to cry, Sir?
Nope, try, not cry, dear.
Let’s try again, ha Manager Valle?
* * * *
Notes: Our sincerest condolences to the family of former newsman-historian Resty Basa who died at age 86.
Kuya Resty was erpat’s spokesman when he was Governor.
Being a journalist ourselves, we feel as we have always felt in league with RCB and all other Fourth Estates.
Requiescent en pace!
* * * *
How and where’s Mayor Belen? We’re told she is again abroad in quest of investors for Dagupan. That’s the spirit…. Always working for the Dagupenos’ good here and there!
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