TODAY, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Secretary Augusto Boboy Syjuco is exactly 66 years old. Inconsistent with his image as a veteran politician, however, he won’t spend the day eating, drinking and merrymaking with his political leaders and wards in Iloilo. On the contrary, as usual, he will report and work in his office at the TESDA Building in Taguig, Metro Manila. What could be a more fitting proof of leadership by example?

As the newly designated government steward for Region VI of the Pro-Poor Livelihood and Emergency Employment Project, the TESDA head has taken upon himself the gigantic task of alleviating the poverty problem that has worsened with the slowdown in the world economy.

The luckiest beneficiaries of this emergency employment scheme are the out-of-school youth and jobless adults in the 2nd District of Iloilo. It’s because, under a counterparting scheme with her husband, Congresswoman Judy Syjuco has set aside some P20-million of her pork barrel to generate emergency employment.

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THE Philippines, the only Catholic country in Asia, is known in the world to have the longest Christmas celebration. As early as September, Christmas songs are being played in radio stations. Christmas songs remind the Catholics to intensify their love to Jesus. Renew the spirit of Christmas and realize the value of mass during this period.

During the official start of the 9- day traditional “Simbang Gabi” or dawn masses on December 16, corrupt public officials will troop to their respective churches too. It’s their way of requesting blessings from the Lord, as most people believe that if one completes the whole series of nine dawn masses, wishes will be granted.

We remind them to stop praying for having more ill-gotten wealth.

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WEDNESDAY was Human Rights Day and also the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The fervor for human rights should not last for only one day. In the coming days, let us act, commemorate, celebrate. The Philippine Daily Inquirer is starting a series this Thursday.

If, as an Amnesty International official once said, the UDHR is one of the world’s best-kept secrets, then human rights defenders are indeed an endangered species. “Best-kept secret” because despite the 60-year-old declaration, rights are continuously being violated all over the world by those who either are not in on the “secret” or choose to pretend they know nothing about it.

I was at the 50th anniversary celebration in Paris 10 years ago in 1998. Allow me to wax nostalgic.

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WE join the millions of our countrymen who hailed the stunning victory of our very own Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, the best pound-for-pound world boxing champion and now the conqueror of Oscar “Golden Boy” de la Hoya, who is one of the most celebrated champions in the ring and a legend in his own right.

This recent Pacquiao victory proves to all and sundry that Filipinos can excel and do better than many of the world’s best, and that we are capable of producing a world hero. It is only unfortunate that there are some among us who cannot overcome their prejudices and who continue to paint our country in a worst-case scenario rather than enhance its image and true colors to the rest of the world.

Let us hail Manny Pacquiao’s unbelievable performance that has made our hearts swell with pride as true and patriotic Filipinos.

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BACOLOD CITY — Yesterday was the world’s anti-corruption day. All over the world were rallies to denounce corruption. At the Redemptorist Church in Bacolod yesterday people wore black to mourn the loss of moral values. Today Bishop Vicente Navarra leads the rally at the plaza against Cha-cha.

The story of mankind is a story of a fight for doing good and to fight against those who harm and others. It is a fight of good against evil.

When people steal our purse and run away with our little money, we feel like killing them. But when some people steal millions and millions of public money that deprives us of public services, we seem not to mind.

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OVER the weekend, news broke out that a contractual employee of the Iloilo City Hall filed a sexual harassment complaint against Sr. Insp. Virgilio Buena, a senior police officer of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO).

The complainant alleged that Sr. Insp. Buena insinuated sexual gestures and indecent proposals. She also claimed that Sr. Insp. Buena offered to send her to nursing school and told her to break off her relationship with her boyfriend to be with him.

For the sake of argument, let’s say the accusation can either be solid or mere hearsay.

However, there is no denying that a number of male chauvinist police officers, regardless of rank, exist both in the city and province of Iloilo.

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IT’S testing time again if there’s anything left of the mass movement called People Power — whether it’s more roar than bite.

Beginning today, civil society groups are mounting mass actions nationwide against constitutional change leading up to the interfaith rally called “Stop Gloria’s Cha-cha Now,” on Friday in Makati City.

Protest organizers claim the rally would be the first mass protest action against Charter change, or “Cha-cha,” since 2003. According to the organizers, the protest would embrace a broad coalition that includes the Association of Religious Superiors of the Philippines, Church People’s Response, the United Opposition, Alyansang Makabayan, Christian evangelist Eddie Villanueva’s Bangon Pilipinas, Mike Velarde’s Catholic charismatic movement El Shadddai, the EDSA 3 Coalition, Sanlakas, and Coalition for National Transformation, and the disgraced former president Joseph Estrada.

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BACOLOD CITY — Negros Occidental’s Third District Congressman Jose Carlos Lacson was reported yesterday to have said he defended the Constituent Assembly as a vehicle for the Charter Amendment.

It looks like my friend Kako is also speaking on behalf of the other Negros Occidental congressmen.

Kako is one of my best friends and I believe he also considers me in the same way. But, here I differ with him.

I also, like very many others, believe our Constitution should be amended because of its very many defects. Besides, a Constitution is a living document and therefore, it has to be attuned to the need of the times.

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STEPHENIE Meyer’s Twilight saga first caught this writer’s attention few months back when the Philippine Daily Inquirer featured the series and the up coming movie on the first book on a weekend issue. The featured article did not merit any serious attention as the books appear to be another teenage fad and a pitch for literary commercialism.

As the play date for the movie nears, the promotions for the movie and the book series intensified. The publishers, producers and all others involved in the project spared no effort and the offensive in all areas of the mass media is all out and no-holds barred. One can’t help but be caught in the whirlwind.

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BACOLOD CITY — Yesterday’s boxing bout between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya, shows our love for a fellow Filipino pitting his prowess against a foreigner.But more important is our love for sports.

Sports is a contest of physical skill, of strength, agility, and intelligence.Manny won, on the eighth round, as we expected.

Winning a sports contest also measures one’s ability to think of strategies to conquer the other.It needs intelligence.

Sports follows what Juvenal, the old Roman poet called “Mens sana in corpore sano.”A sound mind in a healthy body.And the basis for the greatness of Rome was the skill of the Romans, brought up in the culture of sound mind in healthy body.

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