"There is no excuse for the SEA Games snafu."
"There is no excuse for the SEA Games snafu."
Last Tuesday’s supplement on my book as a journalist for almost 70 years made me larger than life! Thanks to Manila Standard publisher Rollie Estabillo and Opinion Editor Adelle Chua and everybody else who made it happen.
My book, The Road Never Ends, will be launched on Jan. 30 through the courtesy of House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez.
At first I was hesitant to write my memoirs. I am neither pop star nor politician. I am just a journalist who wants to make a difference.
I had two reasons for writing my book. First, I wanted it to be an inspiration for aspiring journalists. I wanted to tell the world about the risks and dangers of pursuing the truth.
Second, I wanted people to see that journalism is not your ordinary profession. Rather, it is a calling that requires sheer hard work, fortitude, patience and perseverance.
I recommended my favorite prayer—“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
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In an earlier column I said that if President Duterte would fire Vice President Leni Robredo—which he exactly did, eventually—Robredo would go to town announcing that she was fired because he was afraid she may succeed.
True to form, Robredo is doing exactly that. She now claims she has discovered many things as co-chair of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs and would tell the people about these discoveries in the coming days.
Santa Banana, either Robredo is bluffing of she’s making things up!
How can she claim to know all these things when she has barely warmed her seat? Yes, she wanted the list of high-value targets and narco-politicians but Mr. Duterte was wary that she would share this list to her friends at the United Nations and United States.
More importantly, it all boils down to trust. Duterte does not trust Robredo, plain and simple. She keeps needling him on everything and anything.
Yes, there are many shortcomings in Duterte’s war on drugs. This is why despite his brutal approach, the menace remains. The demand is there, and to respond to this, the suppliers thrive. This is the reason that the drug problem will outlast Duterte.
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As a Filipino, I am embarrassed with what is happening at the Southeast Asian Games which we are hosting this year.
How could the organizers allow many blunders? These started with the arrival of the athletes from other countries. They were made to wait for a long time and they were brought to the wrong hotels. They were fed with kikiam—which is not a nutritious food. And what is happening at the Rizal Memorial Stadium? The venue has not been fully finished. There are no dugouts, even!
Worse, the blame game goes on.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano as overall chairman is blaming the Senate for delaying the SEAG budget. The Senate has denied this.
Yes, there is need for accountability. It’s a national embarrassment! And yet, we spent a lot of money on the Games. Look at that cauldron.
There is no excuse for the snafu.
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President Duterte has created a big problem for the country in his attempt to stop vaping. He even ordered the arrest of vapers. But how could the police arrest them when there is no law penalizing vaping?
The Senate, on the other hand, simply wants vaping regulated.
In my experience, when something is banned, it just goes underground.