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More fertilizer cases up
 Despite
the fact that Malacaņang itself is practically begging the Filipinos in
Libya to come home, only a very small percentage of the 13,000 or so
who are there have taken advantage of the free transportation offered
by the government until now. In fact nationals from other countries,
even those with thriving businesses there, have already given up. From
the reports coming from the international news agencies, things are
really going to be worse before they can get better there.
***
Still, our kababayans are digging in and refusing to leave, even if our
Foreign Affairs officials are warning them that the exits from that
country are closing and soon it will be too late to get away. Well, one
could blame the Pinoy mentality for that stubbornness. When war broke
out between Iraq and Kuwait, we saw reports and heard first person
narrations about how Filipinos in Kuwait would even climb up to the
deckroofs of buildings to watch the “fireworks” as the bombs were
falling and explosing. Maybe such excitement is also what makes our
citizens there insist on staying.
***
In the meantime, it looks as if the cases involving the notorious
Fertilizer Scam are now surfacing from the office of the
Ombudsman, after the one involving now Senator Lito Lapid was ordered
filed. Yesterday’s news carried the story of three more local
government officials in Iriga, Camarines Sur, who were ordered
dismissed for what they did with the fertilizer money allotted to their
city. The amount involved was only P2.9 million, but aside from the
fact that they bought at P3,800 per liter the fertilizer supposed to
cost only P125 per liter, there was also no public bidding held before
the purchase.
***
The funny thing about the case is that the name of the substance bought
was “Young Magic Fertilizer”, and it does look as if there was also
some magic in its procurement. Ordered dismissed were the City
Accountant, City Agriculture Officer, and the chairman of the
Prequalification, Bids and Awards Committee of the city. And their
penalty includes cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement
benefits, perpetual disqualification from public office, and from civil
service examinations. The charges against them were filed by a group
called Task Force Abono. What an appropriate name.
***
Meanwhile,
shouldn’t China be casting its avaricious eyes away from the
territories of its neighbors and look more towards the safety of
its people, both from natural and man-made disasters? In the past
few weeks we have heard about earthquakes, explosions fires, etc.
occurring in that country, causing the loss of lives of hundreds of
people. It will not be surprising if such countries as the Philippines,
Vietnam and even Japan are hoping that those happenings will distract
it from its attempts to grab land belonging to its neighbors, and that
it will listen to the resolution from the United Nations on the matter.
***
Was it the work of spirits, or the effects of drugs? News from
Zamboanga said that several high school students were believed to have
been possessed by evil spirits and have been behaving in very abnormal
and unnatural ways, frightening their parents. School officials could
not explain the happenings, and the parents have resorted to “spiritual
healers” or witch doctors, and it is not known yet if they were
successful in driving the “spirits” away. Several years ago, when
the DAILY STAR was holding office at the Paglaum building that
was within the Negros Occidental High School Compound, we witnessed
several incidents of students fainting and blabbering incomprehensible
words, and “spirits” were also blamed. We heard later that those
students should have been subjected to drug tests instead of rituals by
“herbularyos (witch doctors)”.
***
Why do some people keep scoring President Aquino for not talking about
his plans or his solutions to the problems expected to crop up in
the country? Obviously they do not accept that his report was supposed
to be on the “State of the Nation”, so that was what he did – tell us
what is happening and what has been done so far. Otherwise, they should
call it the “Future of the Nation Address, or FONA, or maybe “Plans for
the Nation Address”, or PONA.
***
The latest news yesterday was that the typhoon called internationally
as “ Halong” that has developed into a supertyphoon will no longer hit
our country but is moving away. Our family is very happy because
today is a special day for us, it is the birthday of our late father
who must be praying for us so his “tocayo”, or namesake will spare us,
as his name is also “JOSE”.*
.
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