Punchline
They are guilty of treason
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
IN our editorial this week, I reiterated again the call to make all our barangay kapitan accountable and responsible in the war on drugs in their communities.
It will be useful to know that our president, a city mayor of Davao for 23 years, knows and understands where and how illegal drug trading proliferates. No one among our senators can claim to know more and better than he does, that’s for sure.
So, I wasn’t surprised when President Duterte underscored the role that local executives play in the war on drugs last week.
As reported by the media, he didn’t mince words when he warned local officials against involvement in the illegal drug trade during closed-door meeting of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Luzon Island Cluster in Davao City.
He couldn’t have been more direct in warning the local officials (from barangay officials to governors) and other elected and appointed officials against “dipping their hands into the narcotics trade” lest they be held liable for “high treason.”
“As a former mayor myself, I understand the difficulties you are facing,” he reportedly said showing empathy but nonetheless emphatic.
“Do not mess up with drugs,” the President said. That warning echoed the same warning he regularly dishes out to drug lords and their syndicates. He levelled a charge at local officials far worse than instant death that he reserved for the drug lords and pushers. He will not countenance anyone committing treason if they protect the drug trade in their communities.
We all know what a traitor deserves – nothing less than death by firing squad. While that will not happen in this generation, clearly, he wants to illustrate the gravity and severity of the crime being committed by an elected official who protects the drug trade.
“It is high treason if you do that to your country.”
Note that he also regularly speaks of his “narcolist” that lists names of local officials (from barangay kapitans to mayors) known to be protecting and coddling drug lords and pushers. He knows them and will surely know more as the campaign proceeds without letup.
So if DILG and PNP leadership wants to help the President in bringing about a successful campaign, let accountability be an added key for an effective campaign before the local officials get into worse trouble with the President.
Make them accountable now before it’s too late.
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INTEGRITY OF MOCHA USON. Now that Dagupeña Mocha Uson has filed her certificate of nomination for Kasosyo party list, people across the country have begun to ask: Who is she? Where is she from? What did she do?
Very few in the country are aware that she is a Pangasinense and a Dagupeña, a degree holder from the UST, that her late father was a regional trial court judge in Tayug who was assassinated in Asingan while en route to Dagupan City, that her mother is a doctor. She had her early schooling at the Mother Goose Special Schools System, Inc. in Dagupan City.
The image that preceded her active role in the Duterte administration was that of a popular sex personality who led ‘Mocha Girls’ and who performed sexy antics in public. And she knew only too well that her detractors would try to ruin her, recalling her past in order to derail her bid to be in congress as a supporter of President Duterte.
To her credit, she preempted them by writing about all the worst things that could be said about her in her Mocha Uson Blog.
Below is the item she wrote and posted about herself. It’s an interesting read for it shows her candor, honesty and yes, integrity as a person which I cannot say of many of our politicians here and in the national scene.
AKO AY ISANG BOLD STAR
May mga nagbalita sa akin na todo daw na tinitira ako ng mga anti-Duterte page. Para po sa kaalaman ng mga nang uungkat ng aking nakaraan at para hindi na kayo mahirapan mag-research ay uunahan ko na kayo.
Dati po akong SEX BLOGGER sa Maxim Magazine. I did sexy indie films. Sexy Magazine covers. Safe sex video tutorial. Pero hindi po siya X or XXX. Hanggang R lang po. Ano pa? Hmmm.. Na-involve ako sa lesbian-bisexual issue with my groupmate. But NEVER did I enter into prostitution nor became an escort. You can ask all the bugaws in the showbiz world (yes most of them are in showbiz) No one can accuse me of that. Malinis ang record ko diyan. Being sexy is just part of my image as the leader of MOCHA GIRLS.
Am I offended when people throw my past at me? Hindi po. Do I feel deep regret for my past mistakes? Yes. But I already asked the Lord for forgiveness. Yes, even before pa nag simula ang kampanya I already surrendered my life to God. I realized my mistakes at naintindihan ko ang pagmamahal ng Panginoon through giving his son Jesus. Hindi ko po sinasabi ito para magpaka-“BANAL”.
I am not perfect and God is still working in me. Sinasabi ko lamang po ito na yang buhay na “sexy” ay akin na pong sinuko sa Panginoon so I am not ashamed of it kasi I know I am forgiven by God because of His son Jesus. Kaya sa mga haters ko po na patuloy na binabato sa akin ang nakaraan ko, mali pong strategy yan dahil hindi ko po ikinahihiya yan at mas lalo po akong natutuwa kasi I can see more the LOVE OF JESUS in my life.
Am I mad at you? Of course not. Tuloy niyo lang po kung ano ang ikaliligaya niyo. Ngunit kung talagang “matalino” at “disente” kayo huwag ang PAGKATAO ng DUTERTE SUPPORTERS ang atakihin niyo kundi yung argumento o ang isyu.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!- 2 Cor 5:17
Mocha has come a long way… she is back to where she really belongs – in Christ and in public service. God bless her!
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REMEMBER THE NAME MANNY SD LOPEZ. Last year, Pangasinan and Dagupan City were listed as new economic zones in the country that can be considered as ideal places for investments in the country!
The man behind that opportunity that was opened to the city and the province was Manny SD Lopez, formerly a consultant at Philippine Economic Zone Authority. (SD stands for Sto. Domingo of General Sales store of the 50s-60s).
A lawyer and a strategic business economics specialist, he recently offered a fresh perspective and a better understanding of the “chaotic” situation with the high prices of commodities and its relevance to the TRAIN law. While senators and congressmen took the opportunity to be populists in the eyes of the public, he dared to rise to counter the off-tangent perception of the situation to help us understand what the real situation is, what the real score is for our people.
In his Facebook account, he wrote, ”TRAIN LAW IS TAX REFORM THAT SHIFTS THE BURDEN OF TAXATION FROM THE POOR TO THE RICH. TRAIN LAW IS NOT TO BLAME FOR HIGH PRICES!”
“A challenge is posed upon us the better informed; should we allow false perceptions to malign the public policy aimed at uplifting the poor?” Train law is not the cause of higher inflation rate. It’s the solution to sustain development and equitable progress.”
Then he wrote: “Prayerfully I will live out my convictions even against the odds, and together with the informed and empowered citizens of this challenged republic. We will work out solutions to achieve positive results. Direct engagement in the political process is a duty of citizen-leaders to correct the systemic and cultural flaws to secure the future of our country and the Filipino people. So help us God.
By the way, he filed his certificate of candidacy for senator as an independent. He will certainly be in my list. I hope he, too, will be in your list to reciprocate what he has done for Pangasinan without anyone soliciting his help.
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