To the Point
By Emil Jurado
After the flood that created havoc in Metro Manila and other areas, Malacañang is talking about a master plan that would make the metropolis “flood-proof.”
Are the President and his team clueless? Or are they hallucinating?
There is talk about putting up dikes around Metro Manila. When and where will they be built? At what cost? How can the government afford it when it cannot even afford to pay the benefits of employees of the weather bureau?
The administration would also like to keep out some 100,000 squatters now living along river banks and creeks. But where will they be transferred, and again, at what cost? I remember the demolition of shanties in Quezon City. It resulted in such violence that the President had to intervene and call off the relocation.
Where else in the world can squatters, illegally occupying private and public property, can threaten the government with the latter yielding?
I heard Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson say that when push comes to shove, government is ready to blast the squatters. Blast them with what? Cannons? Now Malacañang is backtracking and Singson says he was misquoted. This administration is not violent, they say. But, how else will those squatter hovels be taken out of harm’s way without demolitions.
The ambivalence of the administration only reflects its inability to do what must done.
How can the government relocate the squatters when the 2013 elections are fast approaching? No way, Jose, as my grandchild would say.
Urban planning to keep the flood off Metro Manila is now an impossible dream. It is too late. Climate change is already upon us.
I am not a pessimist but a realist. Government can only minimize the impact of climate change and global warming by informing and educating the people on how to cope with disasters them. The flooding can only get worse. There is no way to make Metro Manila flood-proof.
The squatter problem can only be solved with political will. This means that politicians must sacrifice votes in relocating the squatters.
Or am I also dreaming?
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Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima just can’t keep her big mouth shut.
She was not included in the short list submitted to President Aquino by the Judicial and Bar Council. Mr. Aquino will choose from the names on the list in naming the next chief justice of the Supreme Court. De Lima says she was singled out because there was a conspiracy among the Supreme Court, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the JBC to prevent her from becoming chief justice.
The three bodies have explained that De Lima’s case is different from that of Solicitor General Francis Jardaleza, who is facing an administrative charge but was still included in the list. No prima facie evidence was found against Jardaleza. In contrast, De Lima is still being investigated by the IBP for the disbarment complaint against her.
From when I stand, De Lima is courting another disbarment case, if not a libel suit. Imagine accusing the Supreme Court, the IBP and the JBC with the baseless charge of conspiracy, which is criminal in nature. My gulay, thank heavens De Lima will NOT be the next chief justice. Can you imagine a chief justice without respect for such institutions?
If President Aquino still has his head in the right place, he would uphold tradition and appoint Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. An outsider would only demoralize the Judiciary because that appointee would need some time getting familiar with the workings of this branch of government.
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Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s health is deteriorating. Her doctors now say that an implant in her spine is dislocated and could cause “sudden death.” Her condition is preventing her from breathing properly. This is why the doctors say there’s need for a second opinion which could only be given in New York.
The big question now is, will President Aquino or better still, the courts, allow her to leave with all the charges thrown at her? Yes, Malacañang is wishing her speedy recovery. But we know it’s all hypocrisy. It was the President who gave instructions to Justice Secretary De Lima to keep Arroyo on Philippine soil.
Recall that when the late Ninoy Aquino, the President’s father, had a heart problem, he was allowed to go to the US for a heart bypass for humanitarian reasons by Imelda Marcos even if he had already been convicted by a military court.
It seems that the son of the late Ninoy is of a different world. Like his late mother, he intones that there’s no forgiveness without justice, meaning that Mrs. Arroyo must face charges against her.
If that “sudden death” of Gloria ever comes, God forbids, can the President live with that?
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Through this column, I’d like to commiserate and extend my condolences to the family of the late Sorsogon Rep. Salvador “Sonny” Escudero especially to his son, Senator Chiz Escudero, a good friend.
I was quite close to Sonny, whom I knew during the Marcos regime as the agriculture secretary. When he became an assemblyman I used to kid him that he was needed by Marcos at Congress to keep all the President’s “tutas” (lapdogs) in Congress healthy. He was a veterinarian.
Sonny was a regular at the 365 Club at Hotel Intercon, swapping jokes and gossips with his coffee shop buddies. And then we just did not see him for months. Soon we learned that his condition had gotten worse and that he was already wheelchair-bound. We knew he was fighting the big “C.”
I will miss Sonny.
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I have heard so many good things about Philippine Airlines since San Miguel’s Ramon Ang took over as president. Congrats, Mon!
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