IN TIMES of crisis, true friends, good Samaritans and people whose humanity shine like a beacon light for all to emulate come forth and manifest their genuine concern for their fellowmen, without fanfare, without publicity.

Such big-hearted men have come forth to extend much-needed assistance to the victims of Typhoon Frank and the devastating flood that followed in its wake in Iloilo City. We offer our gratitude to Fr. Fernando Suarez, Tonyboy Floirendo, Roberto Ongpin, Greggy Araneta and Nestor Manio.

I thank you, and the people of Iloilo City thank you.

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On July 22 over dinner, I was surprised that national boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, the world’s best fighter pound for pound, came to join me and offered to help the Department of Justice (DOJ) in our campaign against criminality.

Pacquiao revealed that he is against the proliferation of illegal drugs and is angry with police officers who abuse their powers, especially those who plant evidence on unsuspecting suspects.

He even cited a specific case in Mindanao where, through his own efforts, he caused the removal of an abusive policeman from his community.

Manny also proudly announced that he is campaigning against illegal logging in General Santos City and is assisting Environment Secretary Lito Atienza in encouraging people to plant trees. To underline his personal advocacy, he said he already promoted and supervised the planting of some 250,000 trees around General Santos.

Manny Pacquiao, the Champion, has displayed his genuine love of country and exhibited a civic spirit as a useful citizen. I enthusiastically accepted his offer and appointed him as an intelligence agent of the DOJ, to which he replied that he will be very proud to wear the ID I gave him.

Manny Pacquiao is a great Filipino, and I am proud to welcome him to the DOJ family.

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There is an urgency in the plea of Mayor Aida Alpas of Culasi town in Iloilo to hasten the retrieval of 16 metric tons of the carcinogenic chemical toluene diisocyanate contained in 80 drums onboard the MV Ocean Papa, which capsized near the town at the height of Typhoon Frank.

Experts say the toxic chemical “can cause severe irritation of the skin and eyes and affect the respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems, and has a long-term effect on humans.”

What is sad about this is that the chemical can destroy fish and other aquatic life in the area, wipe out the livelihood of thousands of fishermen and turn the pristine beauty of Culasi’s shoreline into a bay of death.

As in the case of the toxic chemicals onboard the capsized Sulpicio Lines Inc. ship that has already endangered the aquatic resources in the area, we cannot wait for divine intervention to happen. The owners of these cargo vessels should ensure that these toxic chemicals be retrieved on time before more tragedies occur.

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If it is true that two oil companies profited more than P70 billion in the last 10 years, or some P7 billion a year on average, then any Filipino who owns a car can conclude that we are being taken for a ride, that there is no truth to the claims of these oil companies that their series of price increases are geared to recoup their losses due to past Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries price increases. On the contrary, it has given them the license to make more obscene profits at the expense of the oil-hungry public.

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Turning a heartening page in the international scene, we join with the rest of the world in hailing the recent arrest of one of the most brutal war criminals, Radovan Karadzic, the former Serb leader who presided in the massacre of thousands of innocent civilians in Srebrenica during the Bosnian-Serbian War.

He was able to elude arrest for more than 10 years but, finally, the long arm of the law collared him to face judgment for his crimes.

It was hoped that like Hitler and the rest of the brutal Nazi war criminals who were sentenced in Nuremberg, Karadzic and the remaining war criminals, including Gen. Ratko Mladic, shall finally face judgment for their crimes against humanity.

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