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Friday, April 26, 2024

Relocate the NBP

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Mocha Uson for the Senate? This must be a joke!

If the PDP Laban is dead serious about fielding her, it must think Filipinos are stupid.  

Yes, Uson has five-million followers on social media. Is that enough of a qualification to be a legislator? 

And then there is former party-list Representative and now Spokesman Harry Roque.  I can’t blame the man. He has been salivating to be senator, and this is probably why he agreed to be a spokesman in the first place—to gain national exposure. 

I recall the President saying that Cabinet members should not use their positions to pursue their own agenda. Is Roque the exception?

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To have controversial entities without experience in governance is an insult to us Filipinos. No wonder the Senate race is always a circus!

* * *

After a long time dilly-dallying, the Department of Justice now under Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre has scrapped the P150-billion mega-penitentiary in Nueva Ecija.

I saw this coming when the DoJ did not proceed with the bidding even though there were already pre-qualifiers—San Miguel, Megawide and DMCI.

Because of the scrapping of the project, the government now has to pay penalties to the three. Aguirre must be held accountable for this fiasco. 

The need to relocate the national penitentiary is critical.  The 551-hectare New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa was built only for 6,400 inmates. Now it is congested with 23,000 prisoners. 

When the illegal drug trade erupted as an issue in the NBP, there was again clamor for relocation.  It appeared however that Aguirre was dragging his feet. Why? 

Now Aguirre wants to erect additional buildings in existing penal colonies.

This is why Aguirre scrapped the project—it would cost the government P150 billion within a span of 20 years. That would have posed no problem with the privatization of the Muntinlupa property. 

He adds he expects them to be completed in two years. My gulay—is he dreaming? 

* * *

That President Duterte is thinking of installing a revolutionary government is very clear. He should not blame the media for misquoting him.  He said he would do it if there is a real effort to destabilize the government and if there is chaos. 

Media have never misquoted the president. 

This is why we get chills in the spine when we hear him talking about “revgov.”  This kind of talk also scares foreign investors. This is why we are getting just the crumbs of all foreign investments in Southeast Asia.

* * *

The Department of Transportation tells the public that the MRT is still safe. They better say that to the half a million commuters who feel they have no choice but to take the MRT to get to their destinations. 

How can we feel safe in the MRT given the daily glitches? It’s a recipe for disaster!

For the government to insist that the MRT is still safe is insensitive. 

DoTr Secretary Arthur Tugade and his subordinates can no longer escape responsibility should anything untoward happen there.

* * *

Calling the New People’s Army a bunch of criminals, President Duterte said he is no longer inclined to continue peace talks with the Reds. In fact he has tagged them as terrorists. 

From the start, I have always doubted the sincerity of the communists in talking peace with the government. In fact, I am convinced that it’s always the same when a new administration comes in. The National Democratic Front of the Philippines always says it wants to talk peace but the NPA keeps on collecting revolutionary taxes and attacking government forces. 

President Duterte has already bent over backwards to accommodate his Lyceum professor so many times. It seems nothing has changed. 

Now that the President has called them terrorists, there is no turning back. I say it’s about time. 

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