Now that the 17th Congress has formally opened, people want to see their legislators to roll up their sleeves and start the grunt work. Hopes and expectations are high that these “public servants” will follow the lead of President Rodrigo Duterte—who sported a rolled-up barong Tagalog for the State of the Nation Address—and cut the bull.
A very welcome addition to the Senate is Richard “Dick” Gordon whose no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach is definitely preferable than the false humility and smooth talk by other legislators. People are just tired of nice sounding but meaningless words. His assessment of the NAIA Runway 06-24 debacle for example hit home—it is embarrassing that people have to suffer such ignominies at NAIA, which is supposed to be an international airport, but as it turns out, has been poorly maintained.
But as the President said in his SONA, time to move forward instead of letting the blunders of the past administration stymie the country’s growth. But that doesn’t mean though that those responsible for the state we are in will get away with it. If evidence warrants, those who betrayed the country will have their time of reckoning, the president promised—and we will hold him to that. As one of our buddies said, “Mananagot yung mga naging pAbaya!”
A lot of people support the plan of Senator Gordon to decongest Manila—NAIA to be exact—by using Subic and Clark. Doing so would also result in faster growth for adjacent areas in Luzon since Subic and Clark—where the old US bases are located—have already been converted into Freeport Zones. Like the former Olongapo Mayor pointed out, its is a shame that the development of the said zones has been stalled, six years wasted with little done to enhance the excellent facilities left by the Americans.
It’s sheer stupidity, the senator fumed, that all these infrastructure in Clark and Subic have not been properly utilized. Many agree, spreading growth from Manila to Luzon (Central, North and South) can be done.
“Do we want a crash landing or our economy to take off?” The senator asked in a Facebook post, saying it’s high time we implement the development plans of the early ‘90s involving three airports (Subic, Clark, Manila), three seaports (Subic, Mariveles, Manila) and one highway (connecting NLEX, SCTEX and SLEX). Gordon is expanding it further with the inclusion of the Batangas seaport and the development of a railway system that passes thru Subic, Clark, Manila to Batangas for starters.
The legislator is confident that the above can pave the way for the decongestion of Manila and the development of the countryside for industries. “An economic triangle that will guarantee investments, factories, a reliable transportation system for manufactured products, agricultural produce, livelihood and jobs—all leading to a healthy economy,” the returning senator continued. He also stressed the need for speed “… Against crime. Against bureaucracy. Against traffic. We need speed. To push for development. To push for investments. Jobs. Livelihood. I will be there to help the president accelerate the country to greater heights. But I will also be there to make sure no one is run over or left behind,” Gordon promised.
Ongpin under persecution?
Many can’t blame businessman Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin for feeling persecuted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, what with the revival of a case that has been dismissed—not once, but twice—by the Sandiganbayan for lack of probable cause. We’re talking about the sale of those Philex Mining shares back in 2009 which was converted by the SEC into an insider trading case.
According to Ongpin, it was a straightforward transaction where the price for the shares was negotiated with Manny Pangilinan—no insider trading involved. Besides, the case was filed almost a full year after the two-year deadline imposed by the Securities and Regulations Code. “Clearly, the case had prescribed,” Ongpin said.
The SEC’s July 8 en banc decision barring the businessman from sitting on the board of any publicly listed firm plus a fine of P174 million was “erroneous and grossly unfair,” the business tycoon said, lamenting the continuing persecution that he continues to experience from those whom he described as the “remaining minions of the past administration.”
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