Some friends have asked me: Emil, you are almost 90 years old. Why don’t you retire?
No doubt, people my age have retired. Government people retire at 60. For the military and the police, the retirement age is 56—which I believe is quite early. Judges and justices retire at 70.
Retirement, however, is farthest from my mind. First of all, journalists don’t have pension plans. How can me and my wife keep body and soul together?
I have seen friends and colleagues stop doing what they were doing. They died soon after.
What will I do with my idle time? I will continue writing my columns, afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted, until I write “30.”
Yes I will indeed be 90 in September. I expect to live some more years, and I will spend them pounding on my old typewriter.
* * *
The revelation of an Indonesian foreign minister that there are 1,200 killing machines, all allied with ISIS, now in the Philippines is something to worry about.
With this great number, terrorists would be everywhere, even here in Metro Manila, and not just in Mindanao.
We can no longer remain complacent on the existence of terrorists all over the country. On the part of the people, the police and the military, there is no substitute for vigilance. The police should not easily dismiss anything.
That Resorts World incident may not have been committed by terrorists, but it is still an act of terror in any language.
Efforts of the police to lull people into complacency will not help assuage fears that terrorist acts can take place anywhere, at any time.
This is why I support President Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao. When former President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, he was fighting only the communists, mostly in Luzon, the Muslim independence movement and the Moro National Liberation Front. Now, President Duterte is fighting many fronts—the communist insurgents, the terrorist groups of Maute, Abu Sayyaf and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the continuing rebellion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the war on illegal drugs. Things can only get worse!
I don’t want to be an alarmist but as the President said, if terrorism spreads to Visayas and Luzon, he would have no choice but declare martial law in the entire country.
I lived through the Japanese occupation. I would not want to live in an environment of fear again.
* * *
More than 26.9-million kindergarten, elementary and high school students trooped to schools yesterday, Monday, for the start of another school year.
On the second year of the implementation of the K to 12 program, enrollment increased by 8.2 percent from the previous year’s 24.9-million students. Two-million students entered kindergarten, while the bulk of enrollees were in elementary school at 14.4 million.
What I cannot understand is the fact that the Department of Education continues to suffer from shortages in textbooks, chalk and other supplies despite this having been the case every year.
Where is the change?
* * *
What happened in Resorts World was a wake-up call to casinos all over.
With the lone gunman firing at the signages and burning casino tables, we now ask: Were the sprinklers even working?
There was indeed a lapse in security. There was also a lack of exits.This reminds me of what happened at Ozone Disco many years ago.
The management of such establishments should look at their exit points. Malls, too. What will happen if there is panic?
* * *
The San Miguel Corp. conglomerate has submitted to the Duterte administration a P27-billion unsolicited proposal to build an alternative toll road that will link Tagaytay to Metro Manila via Cavite and Batangas. The road will be 29 kilometers long and will be an extension of the South Luzon Expressway . A copy of the proposal was submitted to Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar.
Ramon Ang said that the Tanauan Expressway proposal was submitted to government way ahead of similar efforts by other groups.
I think this will be good for tourism.