Page 6 - VBP Digital Edition 4

6
August 2014
Building a counTry wiTh responsiBle
Editorial
The ‘yaya sisterhood’ of Philippine governance
President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III is said to have retained with confidence the loyal services of his embattled budget secretary Flor- encio Abad, despite the passionate opposition of his three doting sisters, Ballsy Cruz, Pinky Abel- lada and the legendary Kris Aquino.
The sisters individually worked hard, touring vote rich provinces in 2013 to get their brother elected to the presidency. In a country where the dreams of a psychotic local artist about the ‘death’ of the president could make headlines, this seems to be a normal occurrence. After all, family sticks together like ill-cooked ‘sago’ in the Philippines.
The president’s sisters, according to news sources, wanted Abad out of the president’s of- ficial family after the Supreme Court markedly declared by a 13-0 vote parts of the much debated Disbursement Accelerated Program (DAP), alleg- edly authored by Abad, unconstitutional.
Of course, the President, in a tele–novela style disclosure at the Palace refused to accept Abad’s purported offer to resign, with DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, Finance Secretary Cesar Puri- sima, presidential adviser Teresita Deles, all cosy friends of Abad, reportedly threatening to quit if the president accepted Abad’s ‘resignation’.
The Aquino sisters who supposedly support- ed the Noy-bi (PNoy-Binay) faction in the 2013 election are now reportedly warming up to family friend Jejomar Binay for 2016, to the horror of Lib- eral Party stalwarts who still believe in the possi- ble viability of Mar Roxas for the presidency.
The result is that in a Roxas-Binay cornered fight in 2016, any winner could properly protect President Aquino from possible suits arising from the DAP fiasco.
Aquino, who is reportedly not thinking posi- tively about facing plunder charges after his term is uneasy about hurting Abad’s feelings who could spill the beans on him somewhere. Howev- er, with her sisters working the backyard, he may not be too keen about preventing other members of his cabinet from working for a ‘Binay 2016’ campaign.
As could be suspected, the president’s sisters have been clearly influencing the Chief Executive in the manner by which he steers his administra- tion. Talk about family affairs.
Opinion
Snapshot
The TruTh in perspecTive.
Distance
Managing detained ‘plunderers’
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Comedian Robin Williams recent- ly died in an apparent suicide.
We remember Williams in “Mrs. Doubtfire” as a struggling father who would do everything for his children against a system that declared him misfit to exercise parental author- ity. The movie was both hilarious and touching, reminding us about the beauty and harshness of life for those who have not found their place in the world.
We remember Williams in the “Bicentennial Man” a futuristic mov- ie about an android home appliance
There are just too many famous in- mates in the Philippines today that the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Jail Management are finding it hard what to ensure: the security or comfort of the accused?
Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla, and Jinggoy Estrada are sup- posed to be given some special han- dling owing to the duties they exer- cise as members of the Senate who have not been convicted and are thus presumed innocent.
The three senators cannot be pre- vented from conducting meetings with their constituents, other gov- ernment officials, their senate staff,
Kapuso Primetime Star and FHM’s top 4 sexiest woman in the Philip- pines Jennylyn Mercado is coming to the United Kingdom for a much awaited concert at 5pm on Septem- ber 13 at Hillcrest School Theatre Hall, Stonehouse Lane, Birmingham, West Midlands.
She will also sing to Filipino and British audiences on 14 September, 6pm at Hammersmith Town Hall at King Street, London.
We are happy that Malaya Enter- tainment Productions, which is fully owned by Visayans in the UK, and GMA 7, have come to produce this
who struggled to become and be recognized as a human being. The movie poignantly showed a critical dimension in the human capacity for creation, that there are limits to what the human spirit can do.
These roles were played by Wil- liams flawlessly. He was a great and generous actor and comedian. And we loved him for it. We fol- lowed his next movies and felt good about them. A movie by Williams was always expected not only to entertain but to teach us valuable lessons in life, about living, survival and, more importantly, hope.
Learning about the passing of Robin Williams brought us both shock and sadness. But what
families and friends.
Charged with non-bailable plun-
der, the prison ‘cells’ of the senators are plain against the snug environ- ments they are used to. However, these personalities are miles in com- fort compared to the ordinary Jose who is facing a robbery charge in some gloomy prison in Samar.
We do not presume to know what the law gives an accused in the crime of plunder of the nation’s wealth, but it does not seem right that these individuals should be allowed to hold court even under custody.
It is criminal itself to think that
big event especially for us here in the UK who seldom see Filipino art- ists perform in this part of Europe.
Yes, we get to read about Filipi- no artists through the net but it is way different to see them in person. Seeing fellow Filipinos perform in a foreign country brings us joy. We are proud to have our artists per- form outside of their comfort zones.
It is indeed timely for Malaya En- tertainment Productions to bring in rising talents from the Philippines into the UK. And as a columnist of the Visayan Business Post, I am proud that VBP is one of Malaya’s active media partners here in the UK for the promotion of this big event in London.
makes this sadness even more painful was the personal story of the man behind the role player.
We thought of Williams as a blissful person living a very contented, happy life with a loving family. We would learn later that he was, in fact, a very sad man struggling with pain- ful depression. He battled drug addiction and, before his death, entered a rehabilitation facility in Minnesota to remain sober.
In the end, Robin Williams was never able to realize how much he gave to the world and that millions of people truly loved him and his work, that he was not alone.
special holding facilities could be afforded to people who have possibly and comfortably amassed millions in public funds while some desperate citizens killed themselves and their chil- dren out of miserable poverty.
Should it be proper to think that these accused can be put in regular jails while being allowed to petition for more comfortable prison conditions and not the other way around?
What shameful justice this is.
I hope that Malaya will get to promote more events of this na- ture here in UK.
Although I hear it is still in the drawing board, I am excited to learn that plans are seriously being considered by Malaya for the production of a beauty tilt involving Filipino residents here in the UK!
There are a number of beau- tiful British citizens of Filipino descent and Filipinos working in this country who would be interested to participate in this beauty and talent contest and I pray that Malaya would really push through with the plan. So, good luck to Malaya and VBP!
The Edges
Death of a sad comic
Our Malaya connection
Visayan