Noynoying
annoys Noynoy

Well, it finally did annoy Nonoy. The latest fad “Noynoying” appears to have caught the attention of President Benigno Aquino III to the point that he said he is not going to get into a fight over it.

At least, this time, the Chief Executive did not just dismiss it as not worth his attention. The protest means of addressing his carefree style of meeting the country’s pressing problems.

But while he dismissed it as something resorted to by persons who do not want to see or listen when they do not want to, Mr. Aquino also stressed that “I will just (do) what is right and what I think could give results.”

But Budget secretary Butch Abad, believes that Noynoying is a protest that will soon lose its relevance as soon as the public became aware that the protesters were resorting to personal attacks against the president.

Abad also claimed that the protesters are running out of issues to rally around, thus, they resort to Noynoying.

Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatrino however, observed that the Noynoying is not just an activist initiative. It has been readily embraced and popularized by the public, especially the Netizens.

And, as pointed out by ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, “it has gained currency with the public because if perfectly captures their frustration with P-Noy’s lack of action on rising oil prices.”

As if to validate the perfunctory way the President addresses some of the country’s serious problems, yesterday we saw two major issues brought to his attention – the 23 Philippine airports found by the US Federal Aviation Agency Administration and the structural problems and limited access to financing for small enterprises the Philippine government should address so that economic growth can translate into poverty reduction according to the World Bank.

Of course, P-Noy has not fully addressed the problem of increased motor fuel prices and the clamor for increased face hike by transport groups.

That, of course, consequently triggers in its wake inflation and a corresponding rise in the prices of prime commodities. Inevitably, that also induces rising clamors for salary increases, etc.

Of course one must agree that Noynoy had ordered the construction of more housing facilities for the Armed Forces and the PNP. But again that brings to the fore that it is aimed at precisely capturing the respect of the military, a ploy that most past leaders had resorted to win the sympathy of the military and the police.

But if you notice, while he runs after “Kotong” cops, Noynoy seems to be oblivious on the need to address the problem of rising criminality in the metropolis and countryside.

I still have to hear of his covering a national security council meeting to address the problem of criminality, especially the proliferation of killings of even government officials and local government officers by motorcycle riding gunmen.

It’s too easy to dismiss the modus operandi as copy cat methods of killing, but they are similar in most instances that one can easily suspect that there must be an organized group of killers who have teamed up to sell their services to some masterminds, crime gang heads or politicians.

And honest-in-depth study is needed now to unravel the stridently, palpable proof that something big is going on that deserve an honest to-goodness concerted action by the government and police agencies.

The pattern has become so obvious that one wonders whether the government is unaware of what even ordinary citizens now consider as threatening the peace and order countrywide.

***

One of the few local officials I had always admired was the late Escalante Vice Mayor Ester Maravilla Ampil, wife of George Ampil.

Ester, as I used to cal her, was the acting mayor of Escalante when she succumbed Monday to cardiac pulmonary arrest at her residence in Escalante City, report said.

She and George were close friends of my late wife, Dr. Lourdes L. Espina. But, despite her being a political person, we remained close friends.

My condolences to George and their children, Stephen, Georam, Gerard, Maricon, Vinalon and Joseph Maravilla and their spouses.

A salute to Ester, the ideal wife and mother. May God bless your soul.

***

I agree with Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. – where are those people who protested against coal powered plants, what can they do for Negros Occidental now that the power crisis is threatening to wipe out the gains achieved by the province the past years?

The only alternative now are the hydro-electric plants which the provincial government intend to put up in Sagay City, Ilog-Hilabangan in Kabankalan City and in Mambukal Summer Resort soon.

But the downtime for such ambitious projects is long. Perhaps, by the time they shall have been realized, time shall have run out on Negros Occidental’s progress.

But we should not lose hope. We just pray that the Department of Energy will finance the service contracts with Century Peak which was supposed to have expired in October last year yet.

I think DOE Secretary Almendras need a “Noynoying” protest by Negrenses to be prodded into action.

We cannot wait too long.*

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