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I am
elated that the President shared my position that it is
the regional wage boards that should determine the
proper increase in the salaries of labor in view of the
present world economic trends.
As I
have stated in an earlier column, the cost of living in
the country varies from region to region and from
province to province and, consequently, the most
reliable approach to stabilize the situation is to allow
these boards to determine the most equitable adjustments
based on the living conditions prevailing in each
particular area.
n n n
Rumormongers, among whom are some media people, have
been busy revamping the Cabinet.
Is
creating such a stir guaranteed to sell newspapers? But
instead of providing information, they do a great
disservice to the public by distracting the officials
concerned and those who work under them from focusing on
their jobs because of false information they peddle to
the unsuspecting public.
On
Friday, for instance, a news item came out saying that
Executive Secretary Ermita will be replaced by former
congressman Butch Pichay. A few days ago Butch Pichay
was also rumored to be the next Customs chief and that
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves will be relieved to
give way to Ralph Recto in the Finance department. Even
this writer was “announced” to be replaced by Secretary
Gilberto Teodoro Jr. because I was “ailing.”
So far,
nakoryente lahat ang mga rumormongers!
Speculation is gut feel, and gut feel is guesswork, and
guesswork is not fact. I believe this is not the proper
way to make news stories to feed an unsuspecting reading
public. These are purely speculations designed to ignite
interest, but it only succeeds in its disinformation.
Instead
of stabilizing the bureaucracy, it may cause
demoralization instead. It is good that Malacañang
promptly disavowed a Cabinet revamp in the offing.
n n n
The
anticipated food crisis may last longer than we think,
and this is why it is important that the nation be
properly alerted and informed lest we be caught napping.
As they say, “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.”
With our
population about to reach 90 million, coupled with the
global food situation, we should be happy that the
President has given intense focus on local supply
precautions, and that is why we are succeeding in
preventing the crisis from escalating nationwide.
Trabaho ng trabaho si Gloria, ang mga fence sitters
naman, atake ng atake.
Have a
heart, or have a heart attack.
n n n
We
commiserate with former Justice secretary Nani Perez for
his present predicament, but that is how the waves of
fate go. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down.
When you are up, your friends abound. When you’re down,
you may encounter loneliness.
Tennyson’s lines offer comforting words to Perez: “Be
still, sad heart, never cease the pining…behind the
clouds the sun is still shining…Some days may be dark
and dreary. . . .”
May I
remind Nani Perez that this case may be his
Calvary if he does not properly prepare for it. As of now I
believe that public opinion is against him,
notwithstanding the rule of presumption of innocence.
n n n
A news
report indicated that
Manila,
or the Philippines for that matter, has one of the
lowest rents in
Asia based on the
results of a survey.
We
should be thankful for this, but on the other hand, it
is a news item that will give us pause. Why? According
to people in the real-estate business, this is mainly
due to the old equation of supply and demand, meaning
that we have more units to offer than takers.
More
important, we still have not reached that stage where we
are a prime destination for foreign investors whose
managers, executives, advisers and consultants, together
with their families, may opt to reside in the country
and will need decent places to occupy.
If we
anchor our perceptions on the number of condominiums
rising each year in the Metro and elsewhere, we can
easily reassure ourselves that we are steadily moving
up. |
