AFTER the prospect of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was bannered in media primarily due to the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order preventing the parties to ink the pact, now, scores of other cultural minorities are demanding their own autonomous region.

At the rate their demands are coming thick and fast, and unless stopped, they might result in the Balkanization of the Philippines. This will come to pass. God forbid. For, then, it might be apt to quote Jose Rizal: “Adios, patria adorada.”

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I am happy that Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago has exposed the many anomalous transactions in the Department of Health (DOH), especially in the regional offices which purchased quantities of medicine that were never used and were kept in bodega only to be burned later on. As I have earlier exposed in this column, right in Region 6, specifically the DOH regional office in Iloilo City, large volumes of medicine were left to rot together with other chemicals which, at the time they were purchased, were already about to expire. I have brought this matter to the attention of my good friend, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. All he told me was, “Cases should be filed against erring regional directors.”

If cases should be filed against erring DOH regional directors, why can’t the DOH undertake the investigation? In the case of DOH Regional Director Dr. Lydia Depra Ramos, Secretary Duque has mentioned to me several times that this particular director, who is a persona non grata in Iloilo City and in Region 6, was to be transferred out of the region within the month of August. However, Dr. Depra Ramos is still in Iloilo City as of this writing and does not seem to be ready to depart. The last time I heard, she wanted to celebrate her birthday in Iloilo City before she bids the city and Region 6 good-bye, but she’s still there and she looks like she’s planning to stay awhile. What does this person have on Secretary Duque that she seems to be “untouchable” where she is? Will she be allowed to stay in Region 6 so she can do more purchases of obsolete medicine from her favorite supplier? I know this woman has pending cases for graft and corruption, including those pending before the Presidential Antigraft Commission. But these cases seem to be sleeping and gathering cobwebs where they were filed.

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Our military and police are doing great progress in the counteroffensive against MILF Commanders Bravo and Umbra Kato who are both facing criminal charges, ranging from murder to arson to kidnapping to robbery and many more, before the Prosecutor’s Offices in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte. Latest reports indicate that the military has already retaken lost ground and many MILF encampments have been overrun. But we are assured the government will stick to the policy of continuing to pursue peace efforts because war will only be the last resort in settling differences, and it is never good to spill the blood of fellow Filipinos. We must not allow the spread of the toxins of war to involve the entire Mindanao. Let us accept that there are still many good Muslims who love this country as the Christians do.

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I have issued a circular to the police, the National Bureau of Investigation and local government units to enforce properly the provision of Article 178 of the Revised Penal Code that prohibits the use of uniforms and insignias by unauthorized persons. I think this has become necessary because the MILF rebels in Mindanao are parading around in camouflage attire similar to our military, and this might mislead our own troops during military encounters.

Not only this, it has come to my attention that many bank robberies, holdups, extortion activities and other illegal acts were reported to have been perpetuated by gangsters and criminals using either military or police uniforms. This will set us back in our peace-and- order campaign.

Henceforth, I urge the police and local government officials to properly supervise and monitor stores specializing in the manufacture and sale of military/police uniforms and insignias to counter the modus operandi of criminal elements posing as military or police officers while doing their dirty jobs. Maybe we will be able to stop the spread of criminality when criminals will not be able to use military uniforms when they commit crimes.

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Good news! Filipino “mathletes” won a silver medal and 48 bronze medals in the recently concluded China Primary Math Olympiad. The 49 students who came from public and private schools in the country each brought home a medal in what is called by the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild-Philippines as the second-hardest math tournament in the world. Since 2003 the country has managed to win only one gold medal, and this year’s performance by Team Philippines was very impressive considering that each one was a winner. We can excel and we can win. If we were very much impressed by the performances of foreign athletes, we will at least be impressed, if not awed, by this. In this post-Olympic season, we can show the world that we have the capacity to win, as well as the brains to do it.

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