For the money

How are the top officials of sports in the country, planning to solve the miserable showing of our athletes at international competitions, like the recent Southeast Asian Games, or the SEAG? They've thought up something so typical of them, which means the solutions will involve more money.

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Reports yesterday said that they are proposing bribes, I mean, money, big sums, as incentives for the athletes. They are asking for the appropriation of amounts that will enable them to give P300,000 for gold medal winners, P200,000 for those who get silvers, and P75,000 for the kulelats, or bronze medalists. And that's not all, they are also planning to give millions to medalists in the Asian Games and the Olympics. That's right, teach the athletes to work more for the reward money, than for honor and glory for the country!

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President Aquino is said to be stunned, not by the resignation of his vice president and former family friend, but by the tirades the Veep, Jejomar Binay, had been firing against, well, not directly at him, but at his administration and style of governance. The shocked PNoy reportedly wondered aloud, “Where did I go wrong?” Dear Mr. President, even if you are not a parent, this time you sound like one who has found out what his son had been up to, despite all he had done for him.

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You didn't go wrong anywhere, Sir, only you did not support the ambitions of the man your late mother and your family thought would be your loyal friend forever. You did not come out and back his family when it was becoming clearer and clearer that they had enriched themselves, in a very short time, far more than yours had been with what your ancestors had left you, what they earned through centuries. You did not help them justify how they acquired all those properties that have amazed the entire Philippine population. That's where you went wrong, Mr. President. You failed them.

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Meanwhile, more about quitting – Binay quit the cabinet, while Bitay quit the Government Service Insurance System. Such a pity, because Bitay, a.k.a. Daniel Lacson Jr., says he quit “for health reasons”. Seems to me, Bitay never looked healthier but then, health can be relative, you know. Maybe the atmosphere at the GSIS no longer felt healthy? Anyway, Bitay has left his mark there, that we can say.

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Why is Dr. Elenita Binay, former Makati mayor, wife of now Vice President Binay, and mother of incumbent Makati mayor Junjun Binay, Senator Nancy Binay and Congresswoman Abigail Binay, working so hard to prevent the former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado from giving testimony during the hearing of her case involving the installations of partitions and furnishings at the Makati City Hall? The works reportedly cost a whopping P72,065,037.25, which should not be surprising for a classy city. However, the charges against her say that the costs were overpriced, and the bidding for their purchase was rigged. Is that where Mercado, their former family friend, can reveal things that will be damaging to her?

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But isn't the lady also facing another serious overpricing charge involving the Makati General Hospital? Being a practicing physician, of course, it was expected that, as mayor, she would direct some attention and, naturally, funds to the hospital. What those who filed the case and are pursuing it, however, is the fact that, as they claim, they have evidence to prove that what was purchased for the hospital had also been grossly overpriced. Does the former Vice Mayor also have the goods on that?

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I got a text message from former Bacolod Vice Mayor (a very good and honest vice mayor, at that), Wilmar “Boy” Drilon, saying: “DOH, PhilHealth extends dialysis coverage to 90 days. PhilHealth today announced that coverage for hemodialysis now expanded from 45 to 90 sessions per year in order to help lessen the financial burden of its members undergoing the said treatment. Visit the website and Facebook Page for more information.” That is certainly a very good piece of news, especially for families with patients needing the procedure, and Boy, himself, who has been undergoing it for more than 11 years now, and has been doing well, thanks be to God, is very happy to share it with fellow sufferers. Thanks, and God bless you with more and fuller years!*

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