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Bacolod City, PhilippinesWednesday, September 12, 2012
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OPINIONS

There couldn’t have been foul play

Ninfa Leonardia

Probers have announced that there was no foul play in the crash of the Piper Seneca plane that carried Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to his death in the sea of Masbate. Any Pinoy could have told them that. In the first place, it was made quite clear from the start that taking the private aircraft was a spur-of-the-moment decision of Robredo, who reportedly wanted to get back to Naga faster.

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Remember, it was also noted that he already had a seat on a commercial flight that he discarded, because of his haste. He probably thought that the commercial plane would land in Manila and it would be hours more before he could get to Naga, hence the decision to save time, by taking a direct flight. Unfortunately, that was not to be. God had other plans for him, as his own family has accepted. From these facts, how could one imagine that someone with evil intentions could have anticipated the change of plans and rigged the plane? It’s about time we let Robredo’s case rest.

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But that does not mean that the case about the alleged attempts to extract confidential documents from his residence and from his office, should also be laid to rest. Although nothing of importance has been determined to have been stolen, the motive for such try should be investigated. Well, the President has reportedly supplied an excuse to Undersecretary Rico Puno by saying he had given the instructions to seal both places, but why do reports say that Puno and his group wanted to enter, and not only seal these places?

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So far some suspicious developments have surfaced, among them the alleged might-have-been purchase of firearms costing P80,000 each from one supplier, when another of similar make could be brought for only $1,000 from another. That means almost double, since the peso-dollar exchange has gotten to only about P41 to $1 lately. The question is whether Puno had anything to do with the plan to buy the much costlier one. He probably also has to explain to Madame Senator Miriam Santiago why he had to travel to Israel for the negotiations, too.

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My ears cocked when I saw a news item saying that the Department of Education is considering the inclusion of Spanish in the curriculum of our schools. The proposal might raise eyebrows from purists who insist on sticking to Tagalog, even as our medium of instruction, but, as for me, I am all out for the idea. Note that of all foreign languages, Spanish is the one that has some similarity to our dialects, because there are a lot of nouns, and even verbs in our own languages that are similar.

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Note that we even use Spanish-based words that have no equivalent in our dialects, and if they have, these are not often used. In fact, we have provinces and cities like Zamboanga, where people speak in somewhat fractured Spanish. Me, I am batting for Spanish, knowing from experience how helpful it can be when traveling in other countries. In Europe, one can get along with a smattering of Spanish in places where English is not popular. In the United States these days, especially in the Pacific Coast, Spanish is spoken everywhere, and even signs in airports, streets, and most public places carry Spanish translations. Let us wait and see how the return of Spanish to the curriculum will be received.

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So the justices of the Supreme Court are still sulking over the selection of Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice over them. Well, some resentment is to be expected, considering that they – the sulking ones – are more senior, and had been aspiring for the post themselves. But the law is clear about the choice of such official being in the hands of the President, so there is nothing they can do at this point except, well, sulk. But this does not sit well with the public, who may also have reservations about Sereno and her fitness for the job, but are resigned to wait and see.

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The horror stories narrated by some of the overseas workers from the Philippines who have returned from war-torn Syria seem to replicate the ones we also heard during the uprisings in Iraq and in other countries affected by the so-called Arab Spring. Fortunately, those who returned were unharmed, but those still there reportedly hesitate about fleeing, because they believe their employers will protect them. Well, that is their personal choice, and they will have no one to blame if the warring factions get vicious and harm or abuse them. While our countrymen are believed to be good workers, they are also known to be hard-headed, that’s why.*

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