I am really wondering why Secretary Francisco Duque III of the Department of Health (DOH) seems afraid to act against Dr. Lydia Depra Ramos, the very controversial regional director of Region 6, who is persona non grata to almost everybody in the DOH-R6 office.

Depra Ramos has been lording it over in Region 6 for the last nine years. Has Secretary Duque given Depra Ramos a Torrens title for that position, notwithstanding the many cases filed against her? Rumors have it that Depra Ramos is being protected by Rep. Art Defensor because they are said to be distant relatives. I talked with Representative Defensor, and he agrees that if Dr. Ramos has committed grave abuses since her occupancy of her current position in the DOH, she really must go.

I have also been told that Depra Ramos will be transferred to another regional office, but up to now, this is all just talk. My question to Secretary Duque is, why is Depra Ramos so sacrosanct? Is she really worth protecting when you yourself are aware that there are so many anomalies associated with Dr. Depra Ramos?

Incidentally, the latest magnum opus of Depra Ramos is telling the people living near the National Food Authority (NFA) warehouse in Jaro, Iloilo City, where tens of thousands of sacks of rice are rotting and stinking like a sewer as a result of the floods brought on by Typhoon Frank, that if they can’t stand the foul odor, they should look for other places to stay. It is obvious that Depra Ramos is oblivious of the fact that we in Iloilo City can no longer accommodate more evacuees in our crowded evacuation centers, and most of the typhoon victims have nowhere else to go because their homes were destroyed. Will Depra Ramos offer relocation sites for these poor victims of the foul-smelling NFA bodega? She is a doctor, can’t she be more useful by offering chemicals to neutralize the foul smell instead of telling the people to take a hike?

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There are moves to postpone the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections in Mindanao. It appears that the President may even endorse the resetting. Personally, I have no objections because I know that this move to postpone the ARMM elections is probably an accommodation to the request of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as part of the peace negotiations in Mindanao. Indeed, if peace is the reason, by all means we should find ways and means to accommodate the MILF. Peace is always better than war. While we do not want peace at a price because that will be tantamount to appeasement, for as long as there is a chance to avert war, we should go in that direction.

The only problem here, of course, is the fact that there will be no more time for Congress to postpone the ARMM elections, considering the political climate in both chambers. Even as we write, we are already hearing discordant voices from the Senate objecting to the postponement of the ARMM elections. This would be the No. 1 stumbling block, but let us hope that what is best for the nation will eventually prevail.

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We consider a twin ray of sunshine in our troubled world the news that North Korea may finally give up its nuclear ambitions, and that Iran and the United States may agree to meet in Geneva for the first time since the hostage crisis which broke the Carter presidency, and may signal a thaw in US-Iran relations, lessening the danger of yet another calamity in the Middle East. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

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In our country, there are two heartwarming developments from the Supreme Court. One is the decision of the High Court upholding executive privilege in the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement case, and the other dismissing the Suplicio petition. In these two decisions, I noticed that the Chief Justice had always voted with the dissenters. Is this an indication that Chief Justice Rey Puno is now distancing himself from cases where the administration is involved?

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