Justice Denied

Lawyers that I knew
Indeed a master of the law
Upholding justice sacredness
Standing in uprightness
To them I ran for help
When tongues of injustice slurp
They cradle me awhile
From evils snarling fangs
But there is the other side
Mask in hypocrisy
Looking so nice and clean
Upon the law they lean
To make the sharpest claws
Inflicting untold sorrows
Upon the widows and ignorant
Choosing neither young nor old
To satiate their own desires
And suck blood upon my sorrow
Hence no glimpse of tomorrow
A nation full of slithers
To whom shall we look upon?
Thus hope is all gone
As men who uphold the law
Use it to kill anew

Lying Regional Director

Last April 2008 the regional director of the Department of public works and highways of the Cordillera Administrative Region acknowledged before a leading television station the ABS-CBN, that 79.61 % of the phase 1 project cementing the Baguio Bontoc road in Mountain Province is accomplished while the Phase two of said project is 90.67 % accomplished.Today is June 2008 and looking at what the honorable regional director pointed out it would mean the whole stretch of the Mountain province dirt road is cemented and there are only a few kilometers more to patch. I happen to pass by the road in question this month of May and saw the works accomplished, it is a sorry sight since the project has a long way to go. An ordinary citizen can immediately detect that one third of the multimillion road work project is just barely accomplished. Yet we find the Regional Director telling the nation and the people of Mountain Province that the work is almost done. When ask about some doubts in his sweeping statements, he challenged those people at the ABS-CBN to accompany him to the sight. So I made a counter statement to the same TV station and challenged said regional director to invite local media in Mountain Province and non government organizations to inspect the site with him. Up to the writing of this comment the challenge remains because we believe that still only a third of the road work is done and millions are being drained and wasted. This is just another example of justifying liquidations of millions of pesos and denying the people the benefits of the taxes they paid.

A Consumer or a Producer Nation?

In Mountain Province Philippines,they are proud of the Lang-ay festival that is celebrated on april 7th every year.This is good in many respect because it showcases many cultural miliu of every tribe in the province.The festivities lasting for a week is one stop shop to those who would like to visit the tribes of Mountain province in one setting.The only problem is the lang-ay wine that the present administration claim as a success, it is beset with lack of raw materials to be processed,so that the wine makers are importing from other provinces the raw materials for their production. Why is there lack of raw materials? Partly to blame is the province whose geographical area is 80 percent ravines and the provincial government who uses their 20 prcent developement fund on projects such as purchasing luxury vehicle,spacious and beautiful confrence halls,gyms, waiting sheds even if not needed,other buildings and the enumeration goes ad infinitum. The support for agricultural production which is the real need to make the province a producing one is not a priority, that is the reason why there are no raw materials to process.
The scenario in the national level is parallel to the local government unit like the Province. Officials have neglected how to help the majority of the filipinos to be productive but concentrated on helping a few big industries and prolifirated the importation busines.The philosphy behind these mindset of many public officials by allowing the country to be a consumer republic rather than a producer one is simply because many Filipinos are abroad sending money back home for their families and relatives to spend on the goods and services owned by our very own politicians.

The Ugly Side of Baguio

It is ironic the government officials and employees of Baguio city hall are so confident that they are doing their work well , they keep on promoting the beauty of the city being the summer capital of the philippines. But alas! railings in their sorry state is a common sight, protruding rusty iron abounds on side walks specially at the city market and garbage along the roads with stinking odour fills the air. The city officials are mayopic they need an eye doctor.

Best Among the Best

Rafael Cachatar of Maligcong Mountain Province Philippines was given a citation by the Lepanto Consolidated Mining company for his exemplary performance in mine safety. He was my mentor in the Boy Scouting movement during the 1970's, he provided our group with readiness and capabilities as real Boy scouts. Being an employee [retired] of the gold mining firm he used his skills as a scout master to provide safety measures for the underground workers as well as those who are working at the surface. Admittedly, it was during his time as a safety inspector that accidents in the mining camp was very minimal thus earning his record as the best among the best when compared with other safety inspectors all over the country. Hopefully such good work of this man will be emulated by others not only his fellow safety inspectors but by the government workers as well, who must work out to be the best among the best of good deeds in their bureau.

Barangay Election In Mt. Province

Let me relate some of the practices done during elections of the smallest local government unit specially in Mountain Province but usually it's almost the same throughout the Philippines except in highly urbanized places. The more relatives a candidate, he has more chances of winning even though he is a gambler and a drunkard or a petty thief. The usual reason if their integrity is questioned is answered in a very positive way, they would say that if these candidate will win they will stop being a thief because he has some allowance from the government so he won't steal from the civilians anymore.How about the gambler? well, he won't gamble the wife savings because he will have a source to capitalize on his vice. The drunkard will now be ashamed to be pissing on his pants in public places if he is elected because he is now a public figure. The electorates are always forgetful specially when given a small amount or a gift from the politician, or they were invited to his birthday party which usually fall before the election. Pretending to be very helpful a month before the election day is the most common gimmick these politicians do to win the people to their side. Surprisingly these politicians are always back all the time, they have mastered the art of politicking. They are in the government service to buy the people, fool the people and off the people.

Five years ago I was talking to Eric Singson,the Vice Governor of Ilocos Sur that time, I ask him if they have plans to create a lateral road link artery for Mountain Province and Ilocos Sur. He answered by describing a plan to connect Vigan, Sagada and Banaue as a major lateral highway connecting three provinces and three regions.HE said, that the highway will be traversing the famous Tirad Pass at Del Pilar, down to the municipality of Quirino Ilocos Sur then up the municipality of Besao and Sagada then to Bontoc Mountain Province where it will link with an on going road concreting towards Banaue Ifugao.Its a good plan though, Its a short cut to the Cordilleras grunting there is a ferry boat from Manila to Vigan just like those old Spanish days. From Vigan to Ifugao will be a short yet historic and picturesque trip. Well, just like this writer Eric was just dreaming that someday the Highway will soon be realized. Yes because even the bridge connecting the town of Cervantes Ilocos Sur and Tadian Mountain Province Was done halfway across the river towards Mountain province side and up to this day it's still unfinished, the last time I saw the bridge was six years ago and until now the project was abandoned with the construction materials rusting away. The Igorots and Ilocanos who are supposed to benefit from this very important bridge have to wait for eternity maybe for the bridge to be finished, the government should make it a criminal act when a contractor abandons his project, this is an economic sabotage and should be dealt with severely, but many lawmakers will not allow it because they are the men behind these dummy contractors.