To those happy with the official audit of Congress funds that stopped in 2009, the 1987 Constitution may be a wet blanket.
At least the traffic, which President Noynoy Aquino once said was a sign of robust economic growth, is as bad as ever or even worse than before. But the fact is, the Aquino administration never mentions the stock market anymore, now that it is suffering almost daily reversals due to developments overseas that the government in Manila had nothing whatsoever to do with.
As presidential promises go, this one was definitely underwhelming. In less than a month, according to President Noynoy Aquino, a plan to finally address deeply entrenched corruption at the Bureau of Customs will be unveiled.
I think Robert Blair Carabuena set his sights too low when he roughed up a mere traffic enforcer. These days, I sincerely wish Carabuena would visit the headquarters of the Metro Manila Development Authority and beat up the man who calls himself its chairman.
Yes, that’s Senate President Franklin “Flip-flop” Drilon. And since it’s not the first time that Drilon is going to be elevated to the third-highest position in the land, it is only fitting that he should also backtrack shamelessly—and oh so quickly—on an opinion that he was supposed to have held with all the conviction that he could muster.
This year’s celebration of Independence Day reminds me of a Facebook “thread” started recently by a passing acquaintance who put forth a daring proposition—or so he thought. This fellow opined that the current times we live in are so much better than the years past because we have the freedom to criticize government and not fear being arrested or even disappearing forever.
It’s easy to wave the flag and say: “Who needs jobs in Taiwan, anyway?” Just don’t say that to 10,000 workers who have already lost good-paying work there in the past month.