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I agree
that the Intramuros Authority Administration should be
charged for the massive cutting down of trees in Plaza
Roma right in front of the Manila Cathedral.
I don’t
think Intramuros Administrator Anna Maria “Bambi” Harper
can claim ignorance that the cutting of these trees was
against the law. But even assuming that she is ignorant
of the law, her ignorance will not excuse her from her
responsibility. There is a dictum which says that,
“Ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance.”
In Latin: “Ignorancia legis non facit excusas.”
****
That
criminality seems really on the rise may be best
illustrated by the recent ambush of Batanes Gov.
Telesforo Castillejos, who was wounded and luckily
escaped death.
I make
mention of this case because I find it personally
strange that even the governor of a small province whose
voting population is slightly bigger than some of the
barangays in Iloilo City can still have enemies who want
to eliminate him.
What was
the motive for the ambush of Governor Castillejos? Was
it political? Was it personal? Was it business-related?
If the
motive is political, it may not be difficult to solve
this case considering that there may not be that many
politicians in Batanes who may have the capacity to try
to remove the governor from the political arena. But
whatever the motive in this ambush, the PNP should not
leave any stone unturned in order to solve this crime.
Speaking
of the rise in criminality, in my own city of Iloilo,
there had been a rash of killings lately. The aunt of
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was murdered right in her
own home inside a subdivision in barangay Tabuk Suba in
Jaro. The chief of the Provincial Fire Office was
murdered just a few meters away from his home inside a
subdivision in the district of Arevalo. Another ambush
happened inside a barangay also in Jaro. And the latest
incident refers to the bombing of the car of Police
Major Musa Amiong, head of the S2 of the Iloilo City
Police Office.
In view
of this alarming situation, I called for a meeting with
the PNP regional director in Western Visayas all the
station commanders of various police stations in Iloilo
City on Saturday, September 6.
I don’t
want the aggravation of criminality in my own city, but
I know that the Iloilo City police have certain
shortcomings due to insufficient mobility as a result of
the lack of police vehicles. In the killing of Fire
Colonel del Castillo, it now appears that some present
and former fire officials may have some answering to do.
I have ordered the NBI to solve this case ASAP.
****
I think
it was unfair for some critics to have demanded for the
scalp of retired Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. who headed
the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process
(Opapp) shortly after Secretary Dureza was appointed as
Press secretary.
General
Esperon did his best but one’s best is never enough when
you are negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front, which enjoys the obvious support of Malaysia.
But to
be more accurate about it, the work which lead to the
memorandum of agreement (MOA) was not Esperon’s
authorship, but that of the original Opapp under Jesus
Dureza and the chair of the peace panel, General Garcia,
who was actually given legal advice by a lawyer from the
Ateneo, Atty. Candelaria, and the Department of
Justice’s Senior State Prosecutor Leah Armamento.
This was
the same draft MOA which on December 14, 2007, was also
aborted on its supposed signing in Kuala Lumpur because
of the objections this writer raised in a memorandum to
the panel which was supported by Secretaries Ronaldo
Puno and Gilbert Teodoro of the Interior and Defense,
respectively.
I know
that Esperon did his best in the attempt to conclude the
peace process, and he should not be punished for doing
his best.
****
In our
August 25 column, we wrote about the acute lack of
doctors and other medical professionals in our hospitals
and clinics especially in the far-flung municipalities.
We
proposed a form of “creative capitalism” to ensure the
availability of doctors and nurses in our hospitals
through the cooperation of countries hiring our medical
professionals and sharing with us the burden of
educating poor but deserving students as future doctors.
We are
happy to note that the dean of the UP College of
Medicine, Dr. Alberto Roxas, has proposed a similar
program with stiff fines and penalties for those who
violate their contract with UP. In his proposal, Dr.
Roxas envisions medical graduates to serve as doctors in
the country for three years before they can be allowed
to go abroad.
Roxas
emphasized that the government subsidizes the education
of UP medical students by as much as 83 percent, and
there is really nothing more gratifying for these
graduates but to serve a three-year return service in
public health.
I
personally support this program as it is laudable and
pragmatic.
****
Least we
be accused as a country of whining and griping
crybabies, let us first accept the clarification made by
the former Civil Service Commission chief that any
standardization of compensation of government officials
and employees will invariably include the adjustment of
the salary of the President. The President is a very
hard-working government employee, and what other
government worker deserve a pay raise, I believe that
she deserves it most.
Let me
point out that the projected pay adjustment for all
government officials and employees can take effect only
after the term of the President, as provided for in
Section 12 of the Constitution. For oppositionists it
may be open season for bashing the President, but to
continue doing it on the basis of malicious premises is
simply a display of ignorance and leaves a bad taste in
the mouth. |
