I was a little disturbed by the speech of Chief Justice Reynato Puno on Independence Day when he declared that Filipinos “are not free.” I disagree with this view of the Chief Justice, although we should admit that the nation is suffering from various ailments, especially in governance made more insufferable because of too much politics 365 days a year.

Our democratic system and our representative form of government is far from ideal, imperfect, and, therefore, begging for adjustments, fine-tuning, and restructuring. Yes, I agree that we need to reform because of these structural, social and political defects in our present system.

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Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDZImLaBBOE&feature=player_embedded

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSglKzBTDv0&feature=player_embedded

The news item “3 Davao Rights Lawyers Seek Amparo vs Military” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 June 2009) is disturbing, to say the least. It shows, on one hand, that this part of the world is unsafe to the political opposition and, on the other, that the source of danger is the government itself particularly, its military.

Our esteemed colleagues in the legal profession in Davao – Carlos Zarate, Lilibeth Ledaga and Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad – discovered almost too late (though it may be better than never) that their names appeared in the “order of battle” (OB) of the military.

The three lawyers are human rights advocates, members of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) formed in 2007 by concerned lawyers all over the country alarmed by escalating attacks by the government on the opposition, especially, political activists.

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So the public may know: the palace of the kingdom by the river is no longer devoted for public service. think twice before going there to avail of its services or to see the ageing king who, as everybody knows, is a very accommodating person who loves to rub elbows with the commen crowd.

The guards will throw you out if you come there on undershirts, short pants, slippers or barefeet and, especially for women, mini skirts, tube blouses or sleeveless attire with spaghetti straps.

I cannot believe my ears but something is wrong with the old king who tolerates his jesters make a fool of him and his constituents by those measures that scare people away and turn his palace into a house of decent fashion.

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THE OTHER day I went to see the movie “Kamoteng Kahoy,” which was directed by Maryo de los Reyes and written by Ricky Lee, both veterans and multi-awarded. I went because the movie was based on a real-life tragedy that happened in Mabini, Bohol, in 2005.

It is a good film to watch these days when deathly horror flicks seem to be all there is. The theaters are drowning in blood, gore, and green vomit.

I had written about the tragedy that claimed the lives of 27 school children and downed more than 100 after they ate fried cassava snacks sold by a vendor. Questions were immediately raised. Was it the cassava root that did it? Was it the way the food was prepared? Cassava contains linamarin. If cassava is improperly prepared, this toxic component could remain. When ingested, linamarin converts to cyanide in the human digestive system. The Department of Health ruled that it was pesticide, present in the cassava snack that did it.

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I understand our officials’ concern for the health of our people and avoiding the swine flu.

I feel, however, we are giving it too much attention to the neglect of other diseases, like dengue which is more deadly.

Swine flu has not killed one in the Philippines yet.

This shows the medicine for this swine flu has already been found. So many struck by this ailment have been cured already. Swine flu is an influenza caused by virus. And there are antidotes now for this virus.

I hope we stop scaring people with swine flu. Let us instead give more attention to dengue and other ailments. Statistics show many people have been killed by other diseases. Swine flu has not yet claimed a single Filipino. We work to stop it but not too much scaring.

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Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman dropped a bombshell on June 12 when he said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had told close associates she was “definitely stepping down” in 2010 and would run for Congress to represent the people of Pampanga. The statement grabbed the headline from the Independence Day celebration in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. “This should allay fears of the opposition about a no-elections scenario,” said Pangandaman.

There had been reports about the President’s plan to run for Congress in Pampanga, but Pangandaman’s statement was the first time such a plan was put with definitive certainty.

Four days later Pangandaman took back his words, saying he must have been misquoted. This made his statement one of those trial balloons floated ahead of a national election.

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Electricity in Davao is P6 per kilowatt hour (kwh). In southern Iloilo where the First Iloilo Electric Cooperative (Ileco I) operates, it is P7.

In Iloilo City, the power distributor Panay Power Company (PECO) charges, as of May this year, P10 kwh and even higher depending on the mood of its management. Your monthly bills could go up to P15 kwh as PECO decides at will to spike charges for every imaginable item or invent such chargeable animals like: “lifeline rate”, “missionary”, “franchise tax”, “environmental”, “VAT on generation”, “VAT on other charges”, etc.

Investors, common sense dictates, prefer to put up shop in places where power rate is low. No wonder they skip Iloilo.

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NO less than ex-Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez – newly demoted to token position of presidential legal adviser – has confirmed that House Resolution 1109, which seeks to amend the Constitution via Constituent Assembly and thus transform the presidential into parliamentary form of government, could eventually keep President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in power as Prime Minister. And that is precisely why we are against the “cha-cha.” Enough of nine years of oppressive rule!

Shame on the greedy congressmen for conniving with her. How much have they bagged?

In addition to public outcry against their hidden agenda, there is an easier way to usher her out of Malacañang without use of force. But it’s actually easier said than done because politicians and other people who directly benefit would always lick her ass.

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COLORADO Springs, USA – This is not an advertisement for the Philippine Air Lines but based on recent experience, PAL is the best airline to take when travelling to the U.S. First it has the lowest rate among the foreign airlines because understandably PAL is based Manila being the nation’s flag carrier. In free baggage allowed, PAL has more because it knows the Filipino pasalubong mentality. It is also amazing to note the many disabled and old persons still going on foreign travel. In PAL flight PR 102 Manila to Los Angeles, I have counted 22 passengers being wheeled into the plane. They are allotted almost one hour to embark first and of course also the last group to disembark so as not to delay the plane schedule.

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