Stick to beauty contests, Trump

Even if he had announced plans to run for president in the next election in the United States, it is obvious that Donald Trump is no politician at all. Just imagine, right after revealing his presidential ambition, he comes out saying bad things about Mexicans, who now constitute a big portion of U.S. residents, many of whom have managed to acquire citizenship, too. Naturally, those people are now mad at him and if he expects some votes from them, he must be out of his mind.

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But one must concede that what Trump had said was true, because he was talking about people from that country who smuggle themselves into the U.S., with some of them getting involved in crimes as well. Everybody knows that, but for him, a declare candidate for office, was foolhardy, to say the least. No matter how true his statements were, and how he justified them by saying he did not call those culprits Mexicans, the damage had been done. Now it seems that Mr. Trump had better stick to running beauty contests, which seems to be his forte. But he must not expect any candidate from Mexico this time.

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Meanwhile, that was one astounding offer that our Pambansang Kamao, Manny Pacquiao, has made. Probably concerned about the poor showing of our athletes at international sports fests, he has announced that he will give a P5 million reward to anyone of them who manages to win a gold medal in the coming Olympics. Yes, that is one honor that our country has not attained ever, and the most our athletes ever won was a silver, so far. Maybe the smell of P5 million will be the best incentive for them to do their best, try the hardest, and pray the most in the coming one.

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The past few days have been full of the most distressing news about accidents and deaths taking place on land, sea and air. After the shocking case of the vessel M/B Kim Nirvana in Ormoc, the big news yesterday was about a helicopter crash in the town of Cuenca, Batangas, where the scion of a very wealthy and philanthropic family was killed, together with the pilot. The businessman, identified as Archie King, is the son of the patriarch who has been donating to educational institutions, with one of them right here in Bacolod, the Angelo King building in the Hua Ming compound.

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As for accidents on land, not a day passes without reports of vehicles bumping into each other, or running head-on into each other, or people getting run over or sideswiped by vehicles. Perhaps the most common land accidents lately are those involving motorcycles, whose drivers continue to flaunt their abilities by weaving through other, bigger units, with them ending up as the victims. And it seems the rest of them never learn.

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There is now a move to scrap the so-called Aguinaldo Doctrine that erases the culpability of an official for an administrative case filed against him or her, once he or she gets reelected. I have always found that principle strange, because it seems that an official who has committed something that is not considered as criminal, can just get away by getting reelected. Which seems to indicate that a popular one, and a good vote getter, can just be exonerated by reelection.

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There is hopeful news about Filipinos in Greece, the country that is now in dire straits after failing to pay its accounts with the World Bank. Government sources said there are about 53,000 Pinoys who are seafarers there, but they will not be affected by the crisis. Filipino seamen are in demand all over the world, and our men in Greece have been helping our economy a lot. Last year, official records show, they remitted $290 million and from January to April this year, they have sent home $92 million already. Let us hope that the country solves its problems soon, their plight still affects us financially.*

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