Stop the finger-pointing

President Aquino is said to be disappointed in the outcome of the country’s participation in the recent Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. In this he shares the feelings of his people. Who would not be disappointed, ashamed, even, with the Philippine delegation coming home with a measly 11 medals, most of them bronze, with only a single gold, out of more than 400 medals handed around during the games? And to think that the lone gold was won by a Filipino-American, who will, naturally, bring it home to the U.S.A.

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But nobody really expected our country to bring home a basket of gold medals, not even the seven predicted by the Philippine Sports Commission. The sad thing is that we continue to have the same officials heading our sports organizations, whose performances have left much to be desired. Perhaps we will improve only if a sweeping revamp is made but this seems impossible, with the old hangers-on who are too powerful to dislodge. And so we will go on spending a lot to send delegations, only to see our athletes come home shame-faced.

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Of course there is some finger-pointing going on, a very common aftermath of a failure. Sports groups and officials blame each other, but that is all, as the cliché goes, water under the bridge. The thing is to own up, and for the incumbent officials to have some delicadeza, and give up their lucrative posts now, with the next ASIAD still four years away. Maybe, who knows, with different sports leaders, we may have better chances against other countries.

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Is there a hex on the Malaysian Airlines? After those two major accidents where its aircrafts were involved, and some minor ones in international airports, one of them almost got bumped by a KLM plane at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport the other day. It was not the the fault of the MAL, reports said the Dutch plane had made a wrong turn and almost hit the Malaysian one. Even so, there seems to be a lot of bad luck hounding MAL. Already it has been announced that it had to lay off thousands of workers because of losses from the mishaps. By the way, the one that got lost on its way to Beijing has not been found until now.

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What’s the matter with former Justice and now Congressman Silvestre Bello? He is the only one who seems to be adamant against the proposal to provide Commissioner Heidi Mendoza of the Commission on Audit security after she reportedly received threats for her damning disclosures during a Senate hearing. Mendoza revealed findings of the COA against certain officials, particularly Vide President and former Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, and his wife, and son who were also mayors of the city after him.

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When it was learned that Mendoza was getting threatening calls, some senators, among them the feisty and unpredictable Miriam Santiago, proposed that she be provided with 24-hour security, and several others, including the ordinary citizen agreed. But here comes a former Justice, pooh-poohing the fears of Mendoza, saying she should resign if she cannot stand the heat. But will resignation avail, now that she has made her exposés under oath, and provided evidences as well? Tsk, tsk. Is Bello friendly with the Binays?

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In the meantime, the Ebola panic seems to be gaining in the United States as Health authorities are hunting for the 50 or more people who may have been in contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, the man who arrived in Dallas, Texas from Ebola-ravaged Liberia. Several people have been isolated and under observation in Texas, while reports say that Duncan’s condition has worsened. Let us hope and pray that researchers will be able to discover, not only a cure, but also a vaccine against this deadly virus. Let’s take heart in the memory that such killers as smallpox, tuberculosis, and even leprosy, had been countered, and are no longer as fearful as our forefathers had found them.

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An 88-year-old man is among the thousands who are taking the ongoing bar examination. This is the third time he has attempted, but Bienvenido Hilario is not fazed. Hope springs eternal, they say. And what if he does not make it again? At least he had his day in the news, landing even on front pages of national dailies for his stubbornness. Why does the Supreme Court not give him credit for effort, and gift him with an additional 20 points to whatever grade he makes?*

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