Not easy like Sunday morning
DPWH says drying palay on national roads can get you a fine and jail time. I am more worried about rice bodegas drying up.
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Baguio’s anti-profanity ordinance may be unconstitutional. Swearing solemnly during oath taking ceremonies is now in danger.
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French composer Francis Lai of “Love Story” fame passed away. Besides writing music for stars like Edith Piaf and Juliette Greco, Lai was perhaps best known for creating the title track to the 1970 box-office hit “Love Story.” Who can forget the duo Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal that starred in this romantic flick? Lai also created the well acclaimed “A Man and A Woman.”
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The governments of Japan and the Philippines signed this Thursday an P18-billion loan agreement for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit line 3 (MRT-3). This is the train system I can get excited about — not the forthcoming Train 2 that could be “taxing” on my wallet.
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The third Telco was finally announced. The Filipinos are welcoming this move to break the mighty duopoly. We have been singing the tune “Who Can I Turn To” for decades for being victims of fast billing and slow service.
The winner Mislatel is a consortium of Davao tycoon Dennis Uy’s companies (Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp.), local firm Mindanao Islamic Telephone Corp., and China’s own provider, the China Telecommunications Corp. or China Telecom.
I just hope that the three will not emerge like the game “Triopoly.”
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Singaporean businessman apologizes to DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) official. In an unexpected turn of events, after days of tension at the newly reopened Boracay, Singaporean businessman Peter Tay went to Casa Pilar in Station 3. Tay approached DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda not to confront him about the new watersports activity policy, but to apologize. I hope that everybody can now breathe clean air in the rehabilitated island. Misunderstandings can pollute the air quickly.
The usual Boracay critics are now spewing toxic fumes against DENR overstepping the boundaries of its power when it issued a warning on authorized water sports that can threaten the environment. DENR said it would only allow sports activities APPROVED BY the HOTELS. So, what are you talking about? Isn’t it that the hotels are under the supervision of the DoT (Department of Tourism) and DILG (the Department of the Interior and Local Government)?
We sure can dampen the spirit in an ugly way. Reports are saying that Boracay visitors are back to their old bad habits of throwing trash and drinking liquor on the beach, while vendors returned to the seaside to sell their wares. They said that thieves have descended on the island again, approaching foreigners and convincing them to have sex before they pick their pockets. I wish there is a jail seen by the public to shame these culprits.
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In a complaint filed before the Ombudsman last October 31, the employees claimed PhilHealth Acting President Roy Ferrer earned some P604,080 in professional fees from March 2017 to June
2018, while also receiving about P1.55 million in salaries and allowances since 2017. Let us hear the side of Ferrer. If there’s merit to the accusation, it can really be hazardous to our health.
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Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said one of the joint exploration projects likely to be signed anytime soon is with China state-owned oil company China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC). Joint exploration is nothing new and is adopted by most countries all over the world. Under existing laws, the Philippines is supposed to take the bigger chunk in revenues (60-40) from the exploration.
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The only main issue here is the environmental degradation that can result in the process. I think we can trust Secretary Al on this matter. He is well aware that one of PRRD’s pet peeves is violation of existing environmental laws.
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The Social Weather Stations (SWS) third quarter survey found 76 percent of 1,500 individuals polled were satisfied with the war on drugs, while only 12 percent were dissatisfied, resulting in a net satisfaction rating of +64. I hope that the human rights critics can read between the lines and stop believing their own propaganda.
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This news report is most embarrassing. We have received the claims that beauty queens are protesting the sexual abuse in the recent Miss Earth beauty pageant. Three Miss Earth contestants bared sexual harassment on several occasions: candidates Emma Sheedy of Guam, Jaime VandenBerg of Canada and Abbey-Anne Gyles of England.
The three, in their respective Instagram pages, spoke out against a sponsor who they said had inappropriate behavior during the Miss Earth pre-pageant activities. Organizer of Miss Earth 2018 confirmed the removal of the sponsor who allegedly sexually harassed three candidates during the international beauty pageant held here. The sponsor sure tainted the image of the event due to his “earthly” moves.
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Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to “investigate more deeply” into the deaths of nine sugar workers killed in Hacienda Nene in Sagay City, Negros Occidental. True to his promise of making DoJ (Department of Justice) a non-partisan agency, this should be a warning to all that no one is privileged to undermine the law.
Critics worried about the killings in our country? Just recently, 12 were killed in California bar shooting. All the victims were killed inside the bar in the suburb of Thousand Oaks, including the officer who had been called to the scene. The gunman was also dead at the scene. The bar was reported to be hosting a college country music night. This occurred after that tragic Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Where is Amnesty International and that Callamard?
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Duterte to invite China’s Xi in his home in Davao City. President Xi Jinping could be the second head of state to set foot in Duterte’s house after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe toured his home in January 2017. I expect Xi to bring a Chinese made “kulambo” while PRRD will offer his favorite Filipino version of congee that we call “goto.”
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Good work, good deeds and good faith to all.
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