Panay News, March 21, 2014 PEOPLE POWWOW By HERBERT VEGO A graceful exit for Napoles THIS writer has no doubt that the PNoy government is desperately trying to devise ways and means to extricate itself from the scandal stirred by “pork barrel queen” Janet Napoles. You can read it between the lines of front-page updates on her. We are bombarded with daily bombshells aimed at breaking public opposition to her alleged intention to fly abroad for treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding that could lead to cancer. It could be a scripted scenario where the President himself would “melt” to allow her graceful exit. Another probable “dumping ground” for Napoles – supposedly in response to mounting public wrath over her isolated detention in Fort Sto. Domingo, Laguna and the P120,000 it entails to secure her on transit – is any regular jail. Obviously, our bright boys in Malacañang are in a dilemma. Sending her abroad for treatment could keep her “safe” from government officials who collaborated with her. But when she moves out of the country, she could unmask the kamag-anak, kabarilan and kaklase who have conspired with her in the P10-billion pork barrel. Keeping her in regular jail, on the other hand, would expose her to “maximum risk” posed by hardened criminals there. No wonder some people logically believe that the only reason behind the “overprotection” of Napoles was to prevent her from spilling her secrets out. Filipinos are not naïve to believe the lie that only opposition senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla dealt with her. With another presidential appointee -- Ophelia Agawin, assistant secretary in the Department of Agriculture – looming as another Napoles conduit responsible for releasing P282 million in pork barrel funds, it looks like Malacañang is in no-win position. Mention of the name of Rep. Rene Velarde as one of Agawin’s links has made us wonder whether Brother Mike Velarde of the influential El Shaddai has not done his homework. He is said to have reformed others. If any harm silences Napoles permanently abroad or in a local jail, how could PNoy play Pontius Pilate convincingly?. *** This corner, so far, has not commented on the allegation of Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Regional Director Lily Ann Baldago that she had indeed abandoned her ministerial duty of administering the oath of new pharmacists because they wore skimpy dresses. Well, assuming she had demanded a dress code for the inductees to give “dignity” to their profession, it does not hide the fact that PRC itself is guilty of robbing them of that dignity. The long daily lines of people waiting for an hour or two for their turn to transact business with the PRC regional office in Iloilo City is evidence of the indignity that these professionals are subjected to. These supposedly dignified people look like beggars waiting for alms there. Perhaps, the PRC should adopt this motto: “Follow what I say, not what I do.” *** Whenever we go to Passi City, we tremble while passing the main road. It’s like motoring on moon craters. Paging Mayor Jesry Palmares, who has been aloof to media these days. May we hear from you?/PN
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 05:19:26 +0000
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