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Bacolod City, PhilippinesSaturday, September 22, 2012
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OPINIONS

Coming soon: Miss Outer Space

Ninfa Leonardia

First there was Miss Universe. Then came Miss International. This was followed by Miss World, and now we have Miss Supernational. It won’t be long before we also get a Miss Outer Space. That we can’t wait to see.

***

I am not sure, but isn’t this Miss Supernational event just a recent one? We heard about it only when the Philippines was able to send candidate to the contest that was held in Poland. Our girl, Elaine Kay Moll – a hybrid, as her name suggests – did quite well in that event, capturing third runner-up honors. The business management student gushes that the Philippines is quite well known to the other representatives, and that the media were already looking for her when she arrived. Have you noticed that our beauty representatives have been landing in the top places in all those contests lately? The very top continues to elude us, however.

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If PNoy’s fixed grin keeps getting wider these days, it is not only because his ratings have gone up as shown by the surveys done by the two most prestigious agencies, the Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia. This time, it is his controversial program, the Conditional Cash Transfer, that had been bashed by some groups in the country, that was lauded by international agencies like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Australian Agency for International Aid, and even the SWS.

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Of course there were many who thought that the CCT program that handed out money to poor families so they could send their young children to school and provide them with nourishment, was quite radical, even warning that it could be good money just thrown away. The foreign agencies thought otherwise, saying that it was improving the quality of lives of poor families by investing in health and education. The program, also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, is predicted to attain its objectives within the millennium. So keep grinning, PNoy.

***

The shoe is on the other foot. Now it is the Supreme Court that has ordered the Bureau of International Revenue to refund an agency with the amount it had erroneously paid as value-added tax, or the unpopular VAT. The payee is the Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation that will receive P359,652,009.47 as refund. It had been a long wait for the FBDC, because its case had been turned down by the lower court, upheld by the Court of Appeals and reversed by the SC. Of course the BIR will seek a reconsideration, but its chances of getting its money back are better now.

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The government is launching another game of chance called Loterya ng Bayan also to be managed by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office that is also intended to counter the attractiveness of the illegal jueteng. In a way, this new game is said to be like jueteng, too. It is not yet ready for implementation, but, with the President’s approval, it will soon hit the countrysides. I guess this is another affirmation of the theory if you can’t lick ‘em, you join ‘em, or put up a similar game. Will it work? There is something more exciting about the clandestine, you know.

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Speaking of gambling, betting agencies are now having a great time with the impending fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. But JMM must be feeling bad that the bettors are seeing odds that do not favor him. As of this week, it has been announced that you have to bet $400 to win $100 if you are for Pacquiao, and only $100 to win $300 if you bet for Marquez. With both fighters claiming that they are determined to knock the other out, this is going to be a great fight, and probably worth the money placed.

***

By the way, somebody asked me to write a reminder to school officials to include in the education of their students the proper way of crossing the streets, especially near their schoolbuildings. My reminder complained that many students, even from high schools and colleges, recklessly dart across streets even when the traffic lights are showing GREEN, endangering their lives and the well-being of drivers. Now that this is being mentioned, I even notice that this violation is very common in the area near the University of St. La Salle where uniformed students carelessly cross, often winding around running vehicles. This is also true at the Benigno Aquino Avenue where they ignore the railings supposed to prevent crossings, and go around them. Let’s not wait for fatal accidents there to do something.*

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