Ben Contreras
IF it was a case of “We don’t want to work, we just want to beg”, that would have been a different story. But those people were hungry people, victims of a long spell of El Niño. They were asking for rice to eat. If 15 thousand bags were too much, can’t the government give at least half the quantity? Pangtawid gutom man lang?
Fifteen thousand bags of rice should be around P15 million. Would that justify the amount of damage to properties, private and government and the lives lost? If the government decides to stand on its ground and meet the people with more force, would more violence be better than just give them the rice?
How many bags of rice were left to rot in Tacloban? Meron pa ba doon? Why not bring some and give them to these people. But that would be stealing from hungry people to feed other hungry people.
If this is a case of government not capable of handling a situation, then we can all look forward to more trouble in the future.
Sometimes, it is not easy to reason with hungry people!
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A politician allegedly offered a bribe to legislators to approve a P60-million purchase of heavy equipment. The 20-percent commission was said to be divided 50/50 as agreed–half for the local executive, and half for the members of the legislative body and its presiding officer.
When the deal was sealed and the commission was received, the presiding officer was allegedly given P200 thousand and P50 thousand for the legislators. Nobody accepted the amount offered and the whole 20 percent or about P12 million went to only one person.
The point is, this is not just about overpricing or purchase to get commission, this is also about greed, dishonesty and treachery. It is a trademark of the politician that many of those who have dealings with him should be careful about.
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There are now growing concerns on what would come after El Niño. Is it going to be a severe La Niña or too much rain?
A concerned citizen that has always been a quiet type of guy surprised me with his fear that the city might be inundated. This fear is really nothing new. This possibility is already stated in “Project Noah” and has been discussed in many fora sponsored by the government, NGOs and scientists.
This study is never meant to scare us. It is meant to awaken us to take it seriously, and at the same time, think of mitigating measures.
Are we prepared for this? Is the government prepared? Or would we again get caught with our pants down?
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The work on that bridge in Opol seems to have come to a standstill. Ran out of budget, DPWH? There’s been so many road works undertaken by DPWH at the same time. And they’re aggravating our already chaotic traffic situation.
Can’t DPWH schedule their works in such a way that it won’t disturb the flow of traffic? One at a time, if you may.
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