Where they could end up

China has a very unique, but probably very effective way of warning its officials against committing graft and corruption while in office. An international report yesterday said that in Shanghai, recently, government officials and members of their families were taken on a tour of prisons. The idea is to let them see the condition of the inmates that should show them where they could land in case of misdeeds in office that end with their conviction.

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Why hasn't our own government thought of something like this? It will surely put the fear of detention in their hearts. In our own country, how many officials both in the present, and in the past administrations should have been taken on a similar tour? Well, we now have three high-profile and very prominent detainees in the persons of no less than a Senate president and two senators, but what about the others with serious charges hanging over their heads? Can they expect to also be given special accommodations before conviction?

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But some people say that they strongly doubt if the lesson of the three top inmates will sink into the hundreds of others with similar cases pending now. They say that this will depend on whom we elect to be our next president. Because if it is some tradpol, who will be thinking about his reelection rather than the punishment of wrongdoers, then all those big shot politicians may be convicted by the judiciary, but will surely be pardoned by the scheming executive. And there we go again.

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Yesterday I saw on TV young Ferdinand Marcos Jr., better known as Bongbong, and now a senator, waxing emotional during a hearing on that suicide case of a student at the British school in Manila. Bong is every inch the son of his mother, who could move anyone with her facial expressions. By the way, the son has been getting around the country, and has been very accommodating as guest speaker. Somehow, I suspect, it is not only reelection to the Senate that he is angling for. Your guess is as good as mine.

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A strong quake shook Tokyo the other day, causing anxiety among residents who must have found the 5.6 magnitude movement frightening, even if their city is known for constant mild shakes. The first time I was in that city with some relatives, one of our companions complained that she felt dizzy and another exclaimed, “There's an earthquake!” Indeed, there was one, but it was quite mild. Also, it was not the only one we experienced during our brief stay.

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But it is not a wonder that people now are more apprehensive about earthquakes, with so many of them happening in various countries, and causing a lot of lost lives and damage to property. For that matter, there is also a warning about one hitting Metro Manila, and it is said to be a strong, a very destructive one, at that. That is why authorities are trying to get people ready, and government is boning up on assistance to be given to victims immediately.

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Nothing is better than being prepared, you see. Remember how much we suffered from Typhoon Yolanda, because we had no idea about how powerful she would be, and how much havoc she could cause? We learned our lesson, and when another typhoon warning came, we were so prepared, that even if it was a strong one, too, damage was minimal, and there were hardly any casualties. So the old boy scout motto of “Be Prepared” is still the best one to adopt.

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Meanwhile, it is not only typhoons, or earthquakes that can be devastating. The heat of the sun can also be destructive, especially when temperature rise to such heights that the human body can no longer cope. Note that everyday deaths from sunstroke are being reported, even here in our country. In India, it was reported yesterday, 430 have died from the intense heat wave that hit the country recently. So we should take the commonsensible advice to avoid dehydration by drinking a lot of water, or any type of fluid, everyday, a very simple, but very effective remedy.*

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