History will judge them

To the Point

History will judge them

By Emil Jurado

Has fame and fortune gone into the head of boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Many Pacquiao?

This question comes to mind because Pacquiao has accused Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares and the regional BIR head of harassment, when all they did was ask him to submit his documents on his tax payments.

The tax officials found it surprising that Pacquiao’s tax payments went down drastically during the years that he defeated his opponents and won millions in prizes, endorsements and even pay-per-view windfall.

Pacquiao even wants the BIR regional head sacked. Is his word now the law?

Requiring taxpayers to submit their documents is routinely done. Henares and her people are simply doing their job. If the boxer-lawmaker has been paying his taxes correctly, why should he even hesitate to submit his papers?

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Malacañang and its congressional drones cannot be accused of noynoying on everything. Look at how they are doing in the case of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The Palace even capitalizes on the results of the Pulse Asia survey, conducted at a time when the defense has not yet been able to rebut the charges of the prosecution, to try to sway public opinion.

Many people say the survey company is now owned by presidential cousins Tonyboy Cojuangco and Rafa Lopa.

The survey says that 47 percent of Filipinos believe Corona must be convicted. In terms of trust, the President enjoys 70 percent while Corona has 5 percent.

The Corona defense team has only begun to argue its case. The survey outfit should not have released those results.

But truth to tell, this is not unexpected. With all the awesome powers of the Palace, backed by the 188 lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint and the administration’s “media partners,” there is no way the chief justice will come out unscathed.

Looking back, the campaign to unseat Corona actually began during Mr. Aquino’s inauguration, who chose to take his oath before his hand-picked justice instead of the chief magistrate.

To this day, the Corona-bashing continues even as the Supreme Court justices voted collegially in favor of the farmers of Hacienda Luisita, a 6,435-hectare sugar plantation owned by the President’s family. The property is the size of Makati and Pasig combined.

Of course, the President has been noynoying on this social problem, contrary to his oath to render justice to every man.

The Pulse Asia results can be viewed as a personal triumph of the President. This was achieved despite the pathetic performance of the prosecutors.

At the end of the day, many still hope that the case will be decided through evidence and not public opinion polls.

The senator-judges are themselves on trial here. Whatever and however they decide, they will be judged by history.

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Despite a lot of noynoying by the President on vital issues, there are still many exciting things happening in the country.

There is, for instance, the development of the Entertainment City, conceived by the former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chief Efraim Genuino. This project is poised to make waves in the tourism industry.

Megaworld also plans to put up a Grand Opera House within the premises of Resorts World in front of Naia 3.

There are also plans to construct a Skybridge that could solve the traffic gridlock at Edsa.

Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino is a jewel in the Aquino administration. He has had many achievements in his drive to make Metro Manila livable.

The Metrorail linking Clark and Metro Manila is also being planned.

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Also among these exciting developments is a world-class sports and leisure City Club, by Alphaland, at the center of the Makati financial district.

Chairman Bobby Ongpin and president Mario Oreta are also looking forward to the Alphaland Bay City, sitting on a 32-hectare community that will embrace nature and technology at the same time.

The Marina Club, the centerpiece of the Alphaland Bay City, is much anticipated by sea-lovers.

The Alphaland Boracay Getaway Country Club, adjacent to Boracay Island, is poised to become the most popular beach destination.

The jewel of the Alphaland projects is Balesin Island with its seven kilometers of white sand beaches on the Pacific front.

It is just 35 kilometers off the eastern coast of Luzon, and 25 minutes by plane from Metro Manila.

Ongpin, who was my student in Ateneo in the 1950s, says Balesin Island is his obsession.

These Alphaland projects are ambitious, unique and exclusive. They are high-end projects, indeed, but Ashmore gives Alphaland the financial muscle it needs.