Blackmail

Ben Contreras
MY September 2015 Cepalco billing was P4,167.56. I thought that with people in the family down to four from six and less power usage in my wife’s sari-sari store due to its impending folding up, my bill for October would go down to P3 thousand. Alas, the opposite happened. It went up to P5,088.04 in October. What could have triggered the increase?

Was it the rotational blackouts? They say that if you’re not aware of your scheduled power interruptions and failed to unplug your appliances, the sudden return of power and the surge it creates will increase your consumption.

I simply cannot think of any other reason. We didn’t have any party that required more electricity. We live a normal life. The sari-sari store closed much earlier than what was expected. That surely would have saved a lot of electricity.

Well, somebody must be in need of money to support certain candidates in the coming election. What a way to generate cash at the expense of the consumers.

Am I wrong? Then please, help me understand what happened.

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The latest incident on “tanim bala” is a passenger bound for Cagayan de Oro. Despite the public furor it generated the last few weeks, there seems to be no end to it. Why, is the syndicate so big and powerful that the national government cannot do anything to at least neutralize it?

The P160-wrapping fee is a Filipino ingenuity to create extra earnings but it also put the country in the world map as notorious and unsafe, a stigma to our national pride.

“Tanim bala” is a classic example of how our leaders run our country. Because many of them are crooks, everyone who finds opportunity to make extra money, illegal or immoral, will do so out of envy. It’s like “Bakit, sila lang ba ang marunong magnakaw?”

Here, corruption and immorality are being talked about like telenovela, Filipinos’ favorite pastime. And yet, they talk and act as if they’re clean and moral. Yes, they are clever in the use of dummies. But their presence confirms the act.

Unless we have a serious group of people who would dare look into the details where the devil dwells, I am pretty sure their shenanigans can be exposed.

We talk of family as the core of our society. And yet are we seeing a model family worthy of everyone’s respect and trust? You don’t know or just pretend not to know because you are benefitting from it? Worse, a part of it! God save our city!

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So, the city government intends to buy the land of the Gador family. But the report never mentioned about the price. We’ll soon find out.

Funny about the report is that, it says, “…City Mayor Oscar Moreno said the Japan Non-Project Grant Aid (JNPGA) is going to withdraw these housing materials by Dec. 1” if the city government fails to provide the relocation site. Yet, the mayor said that the materials are in transit.

No donor will just withdraw in a matter of three weeks just because the relocation site is still unavailable. The mayor’s statement can be taken as an act to blackmail or pressure the City Council. It also shows a rush to make money out of the deal, reminiscent of the first bite of the forbidden fruit by the previous Lord of City Hall.