Just like the jailbirds

The Commission on Election has approved the proposal to allow advanced voting for members of the media. Very good, but how does this take place? Are there any procedures to go through, any documents to present in order to avail of the privilege? Unless the rules and regulations on this are specified, this could create confusing situations when election day comes around.

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And I hope and pray that whatever rules the Comelec may issue, they should be very, very clear on WHO qualify to be the media members entitled to the privilege. We know how many pseudo practitioners there are who can present dozens of identification cards at the drop of a hat, with one for every occasion or entity. I remember that when the new Commissioner of Customs took over, one of his first acts was to look into the credentials of the hundreds of so-called media people covering his office, and discovered that more than half of them were “independent operators.”

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It is not that I do not appreciate the moves of those who proposed this privilege. Even for us in the local media, we often have problems with reporters who have to cover areas far from their polling places. With this, they can go and vote the day before, and be free to stay at their assigned beats for the day. I have even forgiven those who mentioned in the proposal that we in the media should be given the same privilege as that enjoyed by inmates of prisons and jails all over the country. Between you and me, I am not flattered by being linked to that company.

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Speaking of jails and inmates, there are groups who keep on demanding that former president Gloria Arroyo, who has been slapped with another plunder charge, which is non-bailable, be detained in a regular jail. Obviously they cannot see, or do not believe, that the lady is sick. Her lawyers are again asking the court to allow her to be detained in the hospital, the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, that is. That would be quite humane, but, by the way, who is footing the bills this time? The first time she was detained there, President Aquino had stated that her bills will be paid by the state. Will it still be the same arrangement? What if the case drags on for years? The bill might grow to almost as much as the amount supposedly plundered!

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Meanwhile, more and more Party List groups are being disqualified by the Commission on Election and their members are howling in protest. But Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes is right, so many of them do not really qualify, and do not even come close to the requirement of being “marginalized”. Names and pictures of some Party listers were disclosed, as well as their assets and liabilities, and Oh my! The ones shown were all millionaires, many times over. It was also noted that the one called “Ang Galing Pinoy” supposed to consist of security guards and other lowly paid workers, is represented by the son of multi- millionaire parents, and is probably a multimillionaire himself. So let us end this charade allowing such candidates to make a mockery of the law.

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I was amused, but also sympathetic when I heard a news report on TV that the country’s newest world champion in the Silver Minimum Flyweight division, Denver Cuello, had inadvertently left his championship belt in a taxi he rode in Manila last Tuesday. Cuello had just beaten, by unanimous decision, a Mexican boxer, Ivan Meneses, in Mexico. The poor champion was distraught – what proof would be have that he had been champion? But some media entities took up his case, and late yesterday, I heard the belt had been returned to him already. Cuello said he must have been absent-minded because he was so tired, having just come from a TV interview. Well, we are happy for him. By the way, another Pinoy boxer Nonito Donaire, is also going for a match this weekend (Sunday in the Philippines) against Japanese Toshiaki Nishioka in Carson City, California.

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Marikina City officials are urging Filipinos to patronize Philippine-made shoes, especially those produced in their city. Indeed, Pinoys should stop, look and listen to them, because they do design and produce footwear that can compete with those coming from other countries, even from Europe. There are good reasons for wearing Pinoy-made shoes. A lot of people I know experienced great disappointment when their signature footwear – I will not name them for fear of censure or suits, even – that turned out to be not weather-resistant.

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A businessman who owned a high-priced famous brand seldom wore his pair, trying to reserve it for special occasions. What was his dismay when, one day, he took them out, and the soles crumbled! They had not been Pinoy weather-proofed, you see. My friend and kumare, from Marikina, who owns the brand called Bandolino, supplied me with their products when they were just starting, and until now the shoes are still in good condition, although my feet have outgrown them. See?*

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