"The utter lack of good judgment is evident in the Good Conduct Time Allowance controversy."
My long-departed grandmother always chided us when we made mistakes. Lack of “huwisyo,” she said. Kulang sa huwisyo, or walang huwisyo.
It was only when I went to school, where Spanish was yet a mandatory subject, that I got to know that my lola’s “kulang sa huwisyo” meant a lack of judgment. Expanded, it even could mean a lack of sensibility or wisdom.
Spaniards call the wisdom tooth “muela de juicio,” literally wisdom molar or wisdom tooth.
“Walang huwisyo” came to mind as I listened to the pathetic reasons of the Bureau of Corrections officials, led by Nicanor Faeldon, during the first hearing of the Blue Ribbon committee. These officials tried to explain the hows and whys of the release of several heinous crime convicts by virtue of the Good Conduct Time Allowance Law (RA 10592).
Officials appointed to implement the law did not exercise sound judgment, or for that matter, any sense of judgment whatsoever.
Surely, the matrix (that word again) which would have accompanied the recommendation for the GCTA-based release of Antonio Sanchez, the rapist-murderers of the Chiong sisters, the Chinese drug lords among others would have cited what crimes they were convicted for. Surely that should have triggered among people of sound judgment alarms about who they were about to release.
In the case of BuCor director Nicanor Faeldon, sound judgment—juicio—would have dictated that he exercise caution, and perhaps seek the opinion of higher officials (in this case the Secretary of Justice, his immediate superior) before acting.
I would not at this point speculate on the probability of monetary considerations for actions taken in the absence of proof. But in the same way that allowing the release of suspected methamphetamine shipments from the Bureau of Customs in a former job, and now allowing the release of high-profile heinous crime convicts at the Bureau of Corrections point to a lack of sound judgment. Menos de juicio. Or walang huwisyo.
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The ghost month departed, sadly for Filipinos in Taiwan, with the demise of an OFW, Desiree Tagubasi, who suffered from the highly corrosive and toxic effects of hydrofluoric acid accidentally splashing onto the back portion of her legs while at work in an electronics factory in Miaoli in central Taiwan last Aug. 28. Protective clothing covered only the front portion of workers’ body, but not the back part of legs.
Brought to the Miaoli district hospital, she had to be transferred to Taipei because the district hospital was not equipped nor manned for such needed medical intervention. She died upon arrival due to heart failure occasioned by the corrosive effects of the highly toxic acid used in the cleaning of circuit boards.
The accident and subsequent death has triggered an investigation into safety measures, which authorities are now tightening, in Taiwan’s factories.
This is another sad story on the travails of our overseas workers who toil in foreign lands for the benefit of their families back home.
We extol them as our bagong bayani but for the grief-stricken loved ones, that is little consolation.
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Just as the ghost month was still lingering, an OFW drowned in Tainan’s sunset bay in southern Taiwan. Together with six other fellow Filipinos, they were rescued at 5:30 in the afternoon last Sunday, Sept. 1 by the Tainan City Fire Bureau which dispatched eight vehicles, life rafts, and eighteen rescue workers to the scene.
While six survived, one 30-year-old Filipino lost cardiopulmonary functions at the scene and doctors at the Kuo General hospital were unable to resuscitate him.
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But September also brought some good news, though final confirmation must yet come from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their immigration officials.
Instead of annual renewals of the visa-waiver policy, the government is thinking of extending the no-visa policy for temporary visits of 14 days for visitors from the Philippines, Thailand, Russia, and Brunei once every three years.
Filipino tourists coming to Taiwan under the visa-waiver program for the last two years have had few, if any record of overstaying their allowed stay, unlike some other Asean countries given the same privilege.
Salamat sa disiplinang Pinoy.
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It looks like the preparations for the forthcoming Southeast Asian Games this December are on high gear, and PSC Chairman Butch Ramirez has reason to sound quite optimistic, despite the intramurals that our sports officials engaged in earlier this year.
I was privileged to visit the track and field oval and the aquatic center being built at the New Clark City last June, along with Senators Ping Lacson and Gringo Honasan, now DICT Secretary. Indeed the facilities are world-class.
BCDA president Vince Dizon has done a splendid job, despite the time constraints. And the new Clark International Airport terminal construction is likewise proceeding on schedule.
Congratulations, Vince!