Thousands more need not die

September 2 was a red-letter day for Philippine maritime modernization and safety as Starlite Ferries inaugurated in Kure near Hiroshima, Japan the very first brand-new, all-steel roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) vessel purposely built for rough Philippine waters.

With Starlite Ferries president Alfonso Cusi and daughter Patricia Cusi-Ramos beaming with pride, the Starlite Pioneer was launched at the Kegoya Dockyard where the mighty Japanese battleship Yamato also took shape about a half century ago.

Thousands of Filipinos have already died in countless sea tragedies due to the continuing use of refurbished ships, including the majority of the 70 RoRos now serving the Philippine inter-island routes despite being over 20 years old and designed for Japan’s calmer waters.

If the other operators of inter-island in the Philippines really put a premium on the lives of the passengers they serve, they should follow the example of Starlite Ferries by putting their money where their mouths are.

When Starlite Pioneer begins sailing Philippine waters in December, it would stand out among the old RoRos that have been decommissioned in Japan after two decades and used again in the Philippines to the detriment of Filipinos.

So many countries like the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada have issued advisories to its citizens and officials not to undertake inter-island travel in the Philippines precisely because so many RoRo operators have been gambling with the lives of their passengers.

This should change with the thrust of Starlite Ferries to stand out among its competitors by bringing in the Pioneer, hopefully one of the many brand-new, all-steel RoRos that would be brought to the Philippines from Japan to serve our inter-island routes.

Thousands more Filipinos need not die from preventable sea tragedies through the use of brand new RoRos specifically designed for our choppy waters. –End-      

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Hello! It's not OWWA's job!

The straightforward refusal of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to take part in the inspection of balikbayan boxes as proposed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) during a congressional hearing on Wednesday did not come as a surprise.

"It’s not part of the OWWA mandate to inspect, whether to witness or be part of the inspection of balikbayan boxes,” said OWWA Administrator Rebecca Calzado, adding OWWA does not have the manpower to spare for such an activity.

The BOC has proposed that in lieu of the random inspection of balikbayan boxes, it would only open for inspection those boxes that, upon passing X-ray and K-9 examinations, would appear to contain contrabands or other suspicious contents.

Calzado said OWWA “neither have the resources nor expertise" to join in the inspection of balikbayan boxes. "We’re not sure what role they want us to play," she said, adding the BOC already has the expertise to do its job.

Among the line agencies of the Department of Labor, OWWA has a track record among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) of being unresponsive to their needs and complaints.

Thus, with OWWA seen by OFWs as being remiss in its own mandate, its refusal to participate in the inspection of the boxes was to be expected. Likewise, the inspection of balikbayan boxes by the BOC has proven to be a powder keg of an issue that has angered OFWs and balikbayans.

OWWA would not be joining BOC in the same boat when it comes to those boxes. There’s a term for what OWWA is doing: iwas-pusoy or evading facing an unbeatable set of cards by one’s opponent. –End-

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Plunder Saga:Where will the ax fall next?

Is the Office of the Ombudsman really independent as the Constitution says it should be and will it let the chips fall where they may?

      

That's the question  now being asked in light of the recent pronouncement of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales that her office would resolve within this month the plunder cases against Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and other officials in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

      

As the Supreme Court has already declared the PDAF and DAP as unconstitutional, what the Office of the Ombudsman  will say on the plunder cases involving the alleged misuse of taxpayers' money is now much-awaited.

      

At least two plunder cases have been filed by partylist groups before the Ombudsman. One of the complaints alleges that Abad “systematically misappropriated, converted, misused, and malversed public funds” through his involvement in both the DAP and the PDAF cases. The other plunder case cited state audits of the National Agri-Business Corporation or Nabcor, a government corporation under the agriculture department, that found at least P1.35 billion worth of PDAF funds had been coursed through "shady non-government organizations in the name of farmers’ socio-economic programs."

      

Will the Office of the Ombudsman dismiss these plunder cases outright as baseless and invite criticism that it practices selective justice? Or will it indict the big fish and show that it is doing its job of curbing corruption without fear or favor? Abangan.  –End-

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Culture of tardiness

Clearly pandering to voters from the labor sector, several lawmakers have urged employers to consider increasing from about five minutes to 30 minutes the grace period for employees coming to work late because of the heavy traffic in Metro Manila. 

But an official of the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) warned in an early morning radio talk show that increasing the grace period for latecomers would only promote a “culture of tardiness” among Filipinos.   As it is, many Filipinos are already imbued with the bad habit of habitual tardiness known as Filipino time or coming to an appointment up to one hour late, he said. 

The ECOP official also balked at any measure by Congress amending the Labor Code to mandate a four-day workweek, saying it would affect industries with differing workday requirements.

From where we sit, our lawmakers are mistaking the real problem that is the chaotic traffic in our streets and major thoroughfares. The problem has absolutely nothing to do with workdays or the short grace period given to employees who come in late.

Malacañang, at least, seems to have realized this when it ordered the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to take over from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) the lead role in decongesting traffic along EDSA. –End-

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Overrated command vote

With the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) shamelessly flexing whatever political muscle its leaders think they have, the 2016 elections may just see voters from all the other religions being galvanized into voting against INC-anointed candidates.

This can be seen from the overwhelming outrage and disdain expressed by many Filipinos on social and mainstream media in reaction to the disruptive five-day street protest held by the INC that snarled traffic on Taft Avenue and Padre Faura  St. in Manila and along EDSA in Mandaluyong. 

As such, politicians seen to have pandered to the whims and caprices of the INC are facing the very real risk of alienating non-INC voters in predominantly Catholic Philippines.  On the other hand, those who have dared defy the INC like Justice Secretary Leila de Lima are gaining snowballing support from non-INC voters.

While the 2013 elections once again proved the Catholic vote to be a myth with the resounding defeat of its “pro-life” senatorial candidates,  the so-called INC vote – at most not even in excess of 1.5 million votes – is overrated.

In 1986, INC supported Marcos and lost against Cory Aquino and the Filipino people’s clamor for democracy. The INC’s presidential bet in 1992 landed a poor third, while in 2007, three INC senatorial candidates also lost.

In 2010, Mar Roxas tried hard to court the INC vote but despite getting its nod lost  the vice presidential election. Along with Roxas, a high-profile senatorial candidate who tried to follow his father’s footsteps lost despite INC backing.

Even in local elections, INC anointment did not ensure victory. Just to cite a few: Ex-reporter Mon Ilagan beat INC-endorsed Nic Felix for mayor of Cainta in 2004; INC bet Eloise Agbayani lost the 2007 Pangasinan gubernatorial race; while Quezon Gov. Rafael Nantes lost his 2010 reelection bid despite INC support.

Politicians can choose to grovel before the INC but they should take notice that voters from all the other religions are looking at them with contempt. –End-

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No selective justice, only due process

Those who continue to protest the grant of bail to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile should study what the concept of due process really means instead of reacting in knee-jerk fashion and betraying their fundamental lack of understanding of the law.

      

According to the peanut gallery, plunder is a capital offense and is therefore nonbailable.  Hence, Enrile should stay in hospital detention in Camp Crame because he committed a nonbailable offense.

      

Other critics also say that Enrile does not deserve to be treated with kid gloves and freed temporarily out of humanitarian considerations  precisely because plunder is a serious crime. 

      

There also those who say that Enrile is powerful and influential, not to mention affluent, and therefore, the eight Supreme Court Associate Justices who supported the petition to grant him bail may have been intimidated by the senator's political clout or worse, may have been bribed to let him go.

      

All these arguments are wrong.

      

In the first place, the criminal complaint against Enrile does not contain a bill of particulars, such as when he purportedly received pork barrel funds, in what amounts, and so on. Without these details, the charge of plunder would be very difficult to prove.

      

Second, Enrile is more than 90 years old and ailing. He deserves to be granted bail and given the appropriate medical care as a  humanitarian and compassionate gesture. Besides, he is not a flight risk given his frail health.

      

And third, the Supreme Court issued a ruling based on the merits of the bail petition. As a lawyer himself, Enrile knows what is due process, and the magistrates simply acknowledged that the arguments raised by the senator were sound and irrefutable.

      

Those who say that selective justice is at work in the case of the bail granted to Enrile are wrong, dead wrong.

      

Let Enrile resume his work in the Senate and prepare for his legal defense against the charges of plunder and graft raised against him. And while he's out on bail, let him contribute to resolving the problems that the nation faces at this critical juncture through his work as a senator. –End-

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A question of heroes

Today is National Heroes Day. And as the nation honors the men and women who have fought for independence and freedom throughout our history as a nation, it is worthwhile to ask: Who should be considered heroes?

      

We already have a pantheon of revered national heroes, mainly from the revolutionary period at the turn of the 20th century. The roster includes Jose Rizal, whose writings galvanized Filipinos to seek deliverance from oppression by the Spanish colonial regime; Andres Bonifacio, who founded the revolutionary Katipunan that initiated the Philippine Revolution of 1896; Marcelo H. del Pilar, the propagandist of the Revolution; and Apolinario Mabini, the "brains" of the Revolution. Each one of them—and nameless others—contributed to the realization  of our independence and freedom from colonial rule.

      

But while we have the benefit of hindsight to identify those who made sacrifices from the Spanish era down to the American colonial period to the Japanese occupation, it is not so easy to tell who among contemporary Filipinos can definitely be considered heroes for having contributed to our nationhood and our democracy.

      

How do we measure, for instance, the contributions of Ninoy Aquino and Cory  Aquino to Philippine democracy, and ultimately, our nation?  We have hailed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as a collective entity as heroes for keeping the Philippine economy on even keel with their dollar remittances to their families back home, but would that single yardstick make them real heroes?

      

History, of course, will ultimately determine who should be considered the heroes of the Filipino people—and who should be considered its heels, or perhaps even villains. Of the latter, we definitely do not have only a few. –End-

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