Ben Contreras THE Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) group is calling for honest elections. I am not going to question the sincerity of the organization per se. However, it is another thing when it comes to the members’ obedience. It is always a challenge for any organization to compel their members to adhere to its advocacy. Why? Because each one has preferences and biases, for or against, and it will always prevail. A lawyer known to be very religious once said. “Ginoo ko, kung siya (FPJ) man lang ang ma-presidente, limbongon ta na lang ang election.” How many in the BCBP are pro-Liberal Party? A national columnist wrote about a retired chairman of the Commission of Elections (Comelec) invited by the LP to a meeting in Manila for a mission to manipulate the election results in favor of LP. How many in the BCBP are pro-Moreno, an LP candidate seeking reelection in the city? Would he not be a beneficiary in this plot? Had he not been a beneficiary of the previous election when LP was bent on erasing Dongkoy Emano from the map of CDO? This is not about Mar Roxas as a person. But LP cannot pretend that their candidate is weak, thus needs help. The effort to make Mar win the election is hurting the LP’s image as an honorable and dignified political party. Like the BCBP, it’s not about LP but its members. Even some people in media have their own biases. The giants carry out their tasks according to the mandates of their bosses who have their own preferences, too. Some in small news organizations have their own biases, too. After all, we are all voters. Any organization cannot call for an honest election with success unless its members truly adhere to their call, putting aside their friendship or preferences for a certain candidate. Even Church members have their own preferences. They can close their eyes to what they see and play deaf to what they hear. What BCBP should do instead is to investigate and gather evidence against perceived erring politicians than call for honest elections. Honesty is a rare commodity.
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As we approach the end of the year, let us all be reminded that it is during this period (ending and beginning of the year) that heavy rain comes, notwithstanding a more serious weather disturbance. How we end up after this period will measure how prepared we had been. As reported, 60 percent of plastic pollution in the oceans is caused by five countries.  One of them is the Philippines. The others are China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, all Asian countries. Plastic has offered a lot of convenience to people. But as populations grow, so thus the use of plastics. What we didn’t expect was, plastic in the future will cause us more problems than convenience. Being non-biodegradable, they become a menace to our environment. Malls have started to go back to paper bags. How many and for how long? We can’t even learn to properly dispose them.