THE ANNOUNCED claim of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. that he was approached by someone who offered to kill the President is not only a queer incident, but also indicates that former VP Guingona must have considered the threat against the President as frivolous. Either that or the former Veep is irresponsible.

If Guingona considered the offer frivolous, he probably should not have taken pains to write about it in his memoirs. But he must have considered it serious enough to record it for the whole world to know. The point, however, is it was irresponsible on the part of Mr. Guingona, even if he did not entertain the offer, when he never took steps to have the would-be assassin arrested and investigated. The fact is, the man had directly proposed to Mr. Guingona the dastardly act of assassinating the President, and that alone is serious enough. It would have been a patriotic act for the former vice president to sound the alarm bells and reported the matter to the police and have the man arrested and investigated.

I am sorry to say, but in effect, Mr.Guingona covered up the matter and protected the would-be assassin from being uncovered and prosecuted.

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The President was correctly advised in not ordering the takeover of Sulpicio Lines, even assuming that that would have been justified. In an emergency situation as we have just witnessed, the Constitution contemplates two kinds of takeover: 1) Section 17 of Article 12 of the Constitution, which refers to temporary takeover; and 2) Section 18 of Article 12, which refers to permanent takeover upon payment of just compensation. However the Supreme Court ruled that even in Section 17, there is still a need for a congressional authority. I disagree with the Supreme Court interpretation, but in the meantime, we should respect it. We must also consider the Domestic Shipping Act of 2004 (RA 9295) which is a reiteration of Section 17, in giving authority to the President to take over shipping companies in times of emergency. We discussed this lengthily during the Cabinet meeting in Iloilo yesterday, July 1.

The President has taken the view that we can test RA 9295 and let those who fight it go back to the Supreme Court. At any rate, the Cabinet decided that the ships of Sulpicio Lines may resume their operations, using the crew of Sulpicio but under the supervision of Marina and/or the Coast Guard, whose officers will be onboard the ships. However, the vessels will be limited to cargo ships, the rationale being that the Philippines is short of vessels and suspending Sulpicio Lines totally would adversely affect the supply of goods and deprive people of access to basic commodities.

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Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, became the first Asian on Sunday, June 29, to hold four different world titles: flyweight, super-bantamweight, super-featherweight and the first Filipino lightweight champion of the world. It is a ray of sunshine after the tragedy and devastation brought about by Typhoon Frank and one which Manny, the “Pambansang Kamao,” deserved most.

We join the nation in congratulating Pacquiao for making the Filipino prouder than ever. His feat is certainly a crowning moment for Philippine sports and the republic. Once again, through his victory, the Filipino has proved himself above the rest. Mabuhay ka, Manny Pacquiao!

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Typhoon Frank has left the country, but its ill effects are still very much with us. Which is why we Filipinos need to remain resilient and strong; we also must help uplift the morale of those hit hard by the typhoon. Let me just say that those who wish to get a free ride on the pains of others: Let’s not inject politics into the rehabilitation process. It is important to remind unscrupulous people who take advantage of the situation at the expense of the suffering of the public that such display of pretentious concern always leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

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