Morons in the Sanggunian
September 12, 2006
IN February, provincial board member Alejo ‘‘Butch’’
Olano Jr. complained that a story written by our correspondent, Lito Rulona, was ‘‘fabricated.’’ Rulona’s
story quoted him as criticizing Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno for allegedly mishandling capitol funds, specifically its
internal revenue allotment. Olano claimed no interview ever took place.
Based on Olano’s claim, a committee chaired by provincial
board member Francisco Bade, recommended the passage of a resolution ‘‘requesting the management of Mindanao
Gold Star Daily to send another news reporter’’ to cover the meetings of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ‘‘...
or to ban’’ Rulona from covering it.
The problem is that the provincial board took Olano’s
pronouncements as gospel truth, as if this politician with thinning hair isn’t capable of lying. Yet a number of reporters
who have closely examined Olano’s politics would attest that this politician lacks balls––he has a bad habit
of attacking and then retreating, and at times, stabbing people he thinks are his enemies whenever they are looking the other
way.
Did any of the provincial board members ask Rulona to give
his version of the story? No.
If only they bothered to ask Rulona, he could have told
them that an interview with Olano really took place and that he wrote his story as accurately as possible.
But they chose to ‘‘convict’’ Rulona
and passed a half-baked resolution despite the absence of an impartial investigation. In fact, there was no investigation.
They passed the Ban-Lito Rulona Resolution in the guise of a request to this paper.
If it wasn’t a resolution intended to gag the press,
why, in heaven’s name, would provincial board member Oliver Actub remind the provincial board that there was a standing
resolution against Rulona passed last February, and that based on this, the correspondent was unwelcomed in the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan’s session hall? If it wasn’t a ban, why would Actub literally ask Rulona to get out of the session
hall? Uncouth! Such conduct unbecoming of a public official!
Do we still need to remind the members of the provincial
board about the Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution? Haven’t they heard of Section 4, Article 3 of the Constitution
that clearly states that ‘‘No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press...’’
Not only is Resolution no. 69-2006 stupid, it is also unconstitutional.
Yes, very unconstitutional.
Given a resolution like that, how can we expect these officials
to pass relevant and no-nonsense laws in the province? Yes, we are raising a serious question on the ability of the officials
who approved this resolution to govern.
These are the officials we are holding liable for this
stupid resolution: Vice Gov. Julio Uy and provincial board members Oliver Actub, Alejo Olano Jr., Francisco Bade, Arsenio
Kho Jr., Pepito Gambe, Norris Babiera, Santiago Sabal, Henry Clyde Abbott, Jimmy Caina, Jeremy Pelaez, Eduardo Ayunting, Enerito
Acain Jr. and Criseldes Cailing. Gov. Oscar Moreno, who subsequently signed and approved the resolution, need some explaining
to do, too.
Moreno, Uy and a number of these officials are lawyers.
What the hell were you thinking?
It’s a shame that the province’s officials
think this way. A resolution like that can only be a product of morons who have no business staying in any legislative body
under a democracy.
As for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s ‘‘request’’
that we send a journalist other than Rulona to cover its meetings, our answer in ‘‘NO!’’
Your request is denied. Who the hell do you think you are?
'First day junk'
June 5, 2006
GRADE schoolers and high school students are set hold their first
day of classes today. But there will be protests in the streets against the government’s neglect of education.
Protest organizers say the theme of today’s student action is
"First Day Junk" to show the decrepit condition of public schools in the country.
The theme fits perfectly well with the dismal state of public schools,
with the same broken chairs, electric fans, ceilings and other "junk" welcoming students in their first day in class.
Many classrooms in public schools are in pitiable condition. Classroom
shortage and overcrowding are not just the problems students and teachers in public schools have to deal with. Most of our
classrooms are also poorly ventilated and are literally falling apart.
Data from the Department of Education (Deped) reveal that 80 percent
of public schools in the country have no running water, 60 percent have no toilets, 40 percent have no ceilings and 50 percent
have no electricity.
Deped statistics in 2004 also show that there are 267 barangays that
are not being served by an elementary school and five municipalities still have no high school
The education budget has steadily declined in the past five years,
with yearly budget cuts and the government’s rationalization policy plaguing state schools particularly in the tertiary
level
The decrepit condition of public schools in the country is a result
of government’s lack of priority. Our education spending is among the lowest in the region and in the world.
There’s no one to blame for the dismal state of public education
in the country but the government itself.
The government is lying when it says the education budget is increasing.
Per capita education expenditure in real terms is actually declining.
The 2006 national budget shows that the proposed P16.4-billion education
budget, which is 13.9 percent of the national budget, is actually lower by 0.8 percent compared to last year’s 14.7
percent.
The item for social services, which include education, is only 28
percent of the national budget, compared to the debt service item which enjoys the largest share of the pie at 32 percent.
The government, under the proposed budget, will only spend about P7.87
per Filipino aged five to 24 per day or a measly P2,871 per Filipino yearly.
The Philippines is also one of the least education spenders in Asia
and the world.
Data from the United Nations Development Program in 2003 reveal that
the country only spend US$130 on basic education per pupil per year, as compared with Japan, which spends US$3,872, Singapore,
US$1,582, and Thailand, US$852.
The government’s education spending also falls short of the
six percent of gross domestic product (GDP) minimum prescribed standard set by the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
Cultural Education (Unesco)
Figures from the Unesco Institute for Statistics show that the Philippines
only spent a meager 3.23 percent as percentage of the GDP for education. This pales in comparison with Malaysia’s 8.1
percent, Thailand’s 5.2 percent, Israel’s 7.5 percent, Denmark’s 8.5 percent, and the United States’
5.7 percent.
Unfortunately, the present government does not value the importance
of investing in education and human capital. Unless the trend of poor education spending is reversed, the education sector
will continue to be haunted yearly by statistics of shortages and dropouts.
Such a pity.
(Editor's note: Data used in this editorial were provided by Kabataan Party.)
'Gikan sa katawhan, ibalik sa katawhan'
May 20, 2006
SOMETHING’S not right about the implementation of a barangay
ordinance that compels drivers of ‘‘commercial vehicles’’ to pay for the use of a road in Barangay
Barra in Opol, Misamis Oriental.
Should this really be the case? Should this scheme really go on forever?
Let’s just say that the Local Government Code allows local governments,
including barangays, to impose levies on motorists who use their roads. And let’s just say that it’s perfectly
legal for them to do this. But is it fair to citizens?
The capitol started this. Last year, its officials decided to collect
money from those who park vehicles within the capitol compound. The basis, of course, is the Local Government Code.
Now we see the town governments, including the barangays, following
the example.
‘‘Cash tickets’’ are bought by the capitol
from the Department of Budget and Management. Then the capitol sells these to the town governments. And then the town governments
sell to the barangays. Good business?
We really doubt if the commercialization of our roads and streets
is the point of the Local Government Code.
If this goes on, the day will come when motorists would be paying
someone every time they take a right or a left turn or park in this country. This is because many of our roads and streets
are ‘‘owned’’ by provincial governments, city governments and barangays.
Park your car near the capitol and you pay. Go to Barra and you pay.
What’s next? What about––excuse us, please––a farting fee?
We think our officials are setting a bad precedent. They have completely
missed the point of the Local Government Code which, come to think of it, is all about people empowerment and not indiscriminate
taxation.
Governance should be a two-way street in the sense that taxation should
offer a direct benefit for every peso that is taken from a taxpayer’s pocket.
Barra’s road levy––the barangay collects money from
drivers of all ‘‘commercial vehicles’’ that use a road––is a form of triple taxation.
It is actually a tax that is imposed on top of two other taxes, namely the income tax and the value added tax. And when you
have all these on top of sales taxes, we see quadruple taxation.
Having paid all the taxes that is due the government, motorists have
all the right to freely use all the roads, in theory at least.
The roads and streets are owned by the people. These roads and streets
wouldn’t be there if not for their taxes. They, the people, are the government. This is what the catchphrase Gikan
sa Katawhan, Ibalik sa Katawhan really means.
The ordinances are crazy. Please bring sanity back to the Local Government
Code. We appeal to these officials to please have some heart which the ordinances clearly lack.
Please don’t say that you have no choice because it’s
in the Local Government Code. That would be a copout. Of course, you have a choice. You can opt to scrap these crazy ordinances.
If only...
May 16, 2006
IF city hall only spent the over half a billion pesos in building
a bridge in downtown Cagayan de Oro, then the residents wouldn’t be cursing its present occupant.
Yes, people are cursing you, Mayor Vicente Emano, because of your
farsightedness. Yes, the bridge that destroyed the Huluga archeological site would prove to be beneficial to the city in the
future––we repreat: in the future. But the ‘‘near future’’ (May 2006) was something you
never foresaw in 2003 when you desecrated the graves of the ancestors of the earliest known Cagayanons. What you saw three
years ago was probably Cagayan de Oro circa 2016 or 2026.
If only you put the P600-million or so loan to better use, Cagayanons
would be thanking you by now. But instead of building a bridge in an urban area three years ago, you built one in the boondocks
of Cagayan de Oro. Of course, it’s being used now by a few people who want to avoid the monstrous traffic jams at Carmen
proper. But what about the vast majority?
For once, be honest to yourself and stop hallucinating that the thousands
of motorists bound from CM Recto Ave. to Kauswagan, vice versa, are thankful to you for building that bridge in Taguanao,
Indahag. Face it, they are not happy because that bridge is completely useless to them.
Even operators and drivers of public jeepneys who are now using that
bridge in Indahag because the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) tells them so, are unhappy. Their passengers are also
unhappy because the jeepney drivers are demanding fare increases in view of the rerouting scheme that requires more fuel,
time and effort.
Look around and tell us if that bridge in Indahag is really an alternative.
If it is, then CM Recto Ave., Velez Street, Julio Pacana Street, Lapasan, Kauswagan, Carmen, the Divisoria area wouldn’t
be congested the way they have been since the retrofitting of the Ysalina Bridge started. For the thousands of motorists,
Maharlika Bridge remains as the only logical option.
That bridge in Indahag is an ‘‘alternative,’’
of course––an option only for the disoriented motorist. That bridge is an insult to the intelligence of Cagayanons.
What were you thinking when you decided to build that bridge there?
That was stupid––really stupid.
The monstrous traffic jams in Cagayan de Oro today only highlight
the folly of the city’s present planners. It’s as if they don’t know how to plan at all.
If only your priorities are not misplaced...
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