Five hundred pesos

“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”

—Mark Twain

 

 By Alex P. Vidal

 

SOME lawmakers, including individuals “hurt” by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque’s claim that a Filipino family can prepare a “noche buena” meal for only P500 were overacting when they “denounced” the trade secretary.

“What kind of Christmas would that even be? A few noodles, eggs, water? This is a slap on the face of every Filipino struggling to make ends meet,” screamed a “hurting” member of the House of Representatives.

We can always agree, but we don’t need to be disagreeable; we can disagree, but must we “denounce” someone only because we disagree with them?

We can always give suggestions and tell the DTI secretary we don’t believe the amount is sufficient for the noche buena, then we can explain why. That’s a healthy debate.

We don’t believe Aldeguer-Roque’s remarks were “unrealistic and insensitive amid high food prices and persistent economic strain” as what some lawmakers had said. We just need to listen to the other side of the coin and open the market for a free-willing discussion over the subject matter.

The DTI boss suggested three noche buena bundles that can be purchased for under or near P500 and can serve a family of four citing prices from her agency’s guide.

 

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According to Aldeguer-Roque, one bundle costs P374.50, with Christmas ham (P170 for 500 g), spaghetti sauce (P48.50), spaghetti noodles (P30 for 250 g), fruit cocktail (P61.75 for 432g), all-purpose cream (P36.50 for 110 ml), and “pan de sal” (P27.75 for 10 pieces).

She pointed out that another option is priced at P428.70, with Christmas ham (P170), spaghetti (P78.50), macaroni salad (P152.45), and pan de sal (P27.75). Serving both macaroni salad and fruit salad would total P526.95.

The DTI secretary said these options were based on typical Filipino holiday viands. Some items, she said, may even cost less when bought as part of bundled promotions.

Under the DTI’s noche buena price guide, the prices of ham range from P170 to P945; fruit cocktail, from P61.76 to P94.41; all-purpose cream, from P36.00 to P72; “nata de coco,” from P52.50 to P62.50; “kaong,” from P76.50 to P84; “queso de bola,” from P210 to P470; cheese, from P16.50 to P310; and mayonnaise, from P20.40 to P245.85.

 

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Many Filipinos criticized doomed former DPWH official Henry Alcantara for surrendering (euphemism for returning?) P110 million to the government— the Department of Justice (DOJ)—, as part of the P300 million in kickbacks he admitted taking from flood control projects in Bulacan, the first-time restitution in the unraveling multibillion-peso corruption scandal has been made in cash.

Critics said even if Alcantara will return P500 million or more, this will not absolve him from cases of plunder or malversation of public funds.

In fact, they added, he will still rot in jail because of the degree of his participation in the multi-billion flood control project scam.

Instead of being enraged, we must welcome this development. At least, the government, or the taxpayers for that matter, will have something to get in return before Christmas after being hoodwinked by the thieves.

The amount will be returned to the public coffer to be used to finance the basic services for the poor. More money to be turned over, the better.

We expect more to follow. We lost billions of pesos from the anomalies, thus whatever amount we recover is already a blessing in disguise.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

 

 

Have mercy on Harry

“Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me.”

—Alexander Pope

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF it is true that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has serious medical issues, have mercy on him.

As a fugitive hiding in The Hague, Netherlands, it’s not easy to live alone away from his family and with a medical problem, especially now that the winter season is fast approaching.

One doesn’t need to be a doctor to notice in his social media videos that he appears to be not well; he used to be healthy and vibrant. It seems he has lost a tremendous amount of weight (is he starving?).

The 59-year-old Roque has been the object of jokes and ridicule in the social and mainstream media because of his demeanor and political leanings.

Some Filipinos have intense animus for people who are overweight and unsightly, especially if they are loud and boisterous.

If Roque did not actually kill a person, no reason to loathe him. If he did not steal from the taxpayers, no need to condemn him. If he did not torture or rape anybody, no need to call him names and treat him like a leper.

Although he is wanted for qualified human trafficking in connection with the illegal operations of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) hub in Porac, Pampanga, he is still presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

 

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The problem with Roque is he is very talkative, pugnacious and full of resentment despite his predicament.

When he recklessly engaged some of his fellow DDS (Duterte Diehard Supporters) in trash talk over a dispute on “free” food, Roque sometimes forgot his manners.

His biggest sin was fleeing from the Philippines and marshaling a vilification campaign against his perceived persecutors after being slapped with charges for qualified human trafficking.

As a lawyer he knows that those accused of crime should have the right to due process and must face the music, so to speak, in the proper forum, not fly the coop.

Roque’s flight was perceived to be a sign of guilt. He will only have himself to blame if some people suspect he did not want to face the charges against him after he ran out of alibi.

His actuations and bellicose attitude while abroad were seen as tantamount to creating his own monster and burying his own head in the quicksand.

The former Malacanang big shot during the halcyon years of the Duterte administration has shown no remorse and is bereft of humility.

 

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IT’S been several days since the name of Iloilo’s Uswag Ilonggo partylist Rep. James “Jojo” Ang Jr. was dragged as among the eight solons in the first batch of those recommended by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) for criminal charges in the Office of the Ombudsman but not a single local official or Western Visayas colleague in the House of Representatives has come out with a statement or appeal to the Ilonggos to give him the benefit of the doubt and refrain from prejudging his case.

Either they are shamed to be identified with Ang now that he is under trouble, or they believe there is semblance of truth in the allegations against him that he benefited from kickbacks in the flood control project scandal.

Or both. Their silence is deafening.

By the way, most of the comments by the netizens in both the social and mainstream media recently appear to be cordial and sympathetic to Ang.

Some of them think the partylist solon can wiggle out from the mess if given the opportunity to defend himself in court.

Some netizens however took potshots at Ang’s connection with the International Builders Corporation (IBC) owned by his uncle Alfonso Tan, which allegedly bagged multibillion-peso worth of flood control, among other infrastructure projects these past years.

 (The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

 

 

Give me death or lock me in jail in Christmas

“When a person go to jail, what people don't realize is you're alive, but you're dead to the world. People forget about you. When you go to jail, you're a story.”

—Roddy Ricch

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

NOTHING can be worse than being tormented by the thought that before Christmas Day, someone will spend time inside the jail.

For several weeks now, this brutal threat by the government against perpetrators of the infuriating flood control project uproar has become their excruciating Sword of Damocles.

To be compulsorily taken away from family during the “most wonderful time of the year”is already a terrible mental and emotional anguish.

To be separated from family and brought behind bars in cuff during the Yuletide season, including New Year, without knowing whether someone can go home soon is adding insult to injury and agony.

Definitely there will be no homecoming in sight yet for many of those involved who face imminent arrest in the mess if they are slapped with malversation of public funds, a non-bailable offense, aside from plunder.

This was what the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), including President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had promised the Filipino people.

 

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Many of the accused (they remain “suspects” until formal charges have been filed against them in the Sandiganbayan) may have started spending some sleepless nights; their families may have been worrying a lot like they are about to witness a funeral of loved ones.

But this is the price they have to pay. Justice and accountability have to be served regardless of who gets waylaid. It’s long overdue.

The taxpayers, including those who lost family members in the most recent floods when successive super typhoons ripped apart the peninsula and dry lands, have been waiting for moment where those responsible for stealing billions of pesos in flood control projects that resulted in horrific destruction and death are locked in the calaboose.

We also worry for family members of those who will be locked in jail in relation to the flood control project hullabaloo since most of them will have to suffer the stigma of shame and humiliation in public even if they have nothing to do whatsoever with the crime, but we are more worried if justice will elude the taxpayers—the Filipino people for that matter—if the flood control project thieves are allowed to get away with murder.

 

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The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is aware of what is happening in the Philippines nowadays.

Uncle Sam knows there are malcontents and destabilizers agitating to topple the Marcos Jr. administration with the support of China.

Even the most recent protest rally called by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) against corruption in government, Uncle Sam monitored and observed every move and speech delivered by haters and saboteurs of the three-year-old Marcos Jr. regime.

Sources said the INC hierarchy decided to shorten the supposed to be three-day protest rally at the Luneta in Manila after being “advised” by Big Brother.

This was after an unhinged presidential sister started to fiercely attack the president, her own younger brother, south of the border.

For Big Brother, it was a tipping point. INC had to oblige to the bigger voice.

 

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BLOOD IN SEMEN. One in 100 men experience this condition known as "hematospermia", and it's usually nothing to worry about as it's a routine plumbing problem. Ejaculating at least once a week improves our urologic health, decreasing the chances of prostate cancer and hematospermia. (Source: Dr. Judd Moul, Duke University Medical Center)

GOOD SEX EDUCATION is safe sex education. Helping kids to be aware of their bodies and of their feelings about sexuality can only make them better able to practice safe and egalitarian sex in what could be history's most honest chapter of sexual relations.

Charles Dickens once said, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” We say, “With or without Christmas, we should live a decent life; love our friends and don't hate our enemies. Respect for our parents should be inviolable. Kindness should be our mantra. Most of all, our faith in God should be unshakable!

 

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OUR BONES. There are 206 bones in the adult human body, but 300 in children (some of the bones fuse together as a child grows).

The Roman Emperor Nero used to dress up young boys in his dead wife's clothes and make love to them.

WHAT IS THE SECRET BEHIND A SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP? 91 percent of those surveyed said it was still finding your partner attractive after being together for several years. If I may add, being "attractive" does not mean only physically. We can be attractive because of our values, intelligence, and the way we treat others, especially the lowly people.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

 

 

What if Rep. Jojo Ang is found innocent?

“A clear and innocent conscience fears nothing.”

—Elizabeth I

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

EVEN if he will be proven innocent, the political career of Iloilo’s Uswag Ilonggo Partylist Rep. James “Jojo” Ang Jr is already over.

No politician—neophyte or veteran—has recovered after being linked to anomalies involving public funds.

Public perception is cruel. The politicians’ good deeds are often buried in the quicksand of history, their infractions—true or not—are permanently inscribed in memory of obloquy and infamy.

Even if Ang and other accused in the multi-billion flood control project mess are presumed innocent until proven otherwise, the stigma of being repeatedly mentioned in the national discourse related to the biggest corruption scandal in Philippine history is enough to destroy an aspiring or seasoned politician.

But what if Ang and some of his co-accused are innocent? If the damage is done, no amount of “not guilty” verdict can compensate or save someone whose reputation has been ripped to ribbons.  

This is the dilemma politicians like Ang, et al are facing.

The only option if found innocent is for them to permanently say goodbye to public office—but not necessarily public service.

Some people have dementia when it comes to remembering past misdeeds.

In private, politicians devastated by false charges of corruption may be able to find the healing formula and rebuild their lives by staying away completely from public consciousness.

 

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IN the first week of December 2025, we expect the Office of the Ombudsman to file the second batch of criminal cases against individuals linked to flood control project anomalies in the Philippines.

We also expect the Sandiganbayan to immediately issue warrants of arrest against the accused similar to what happened in the first batch involving small fries in Oriental Mindoro.

This will commence to satisfy the people baying for prosecution of an estimated 200 politicians and DPWH officials and contractors.

One after the other or more are coming, vowed the government authorities.

In the second batch, we predict that some if not all of the eight members of the House of Representatives mentioned in the report submitted by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to the Office of the Ombudsman November 26

Even if the evidence against some of the eight solons may not be airtight, the cases will have to be filed and those congressmen must be served with warrant of arrest because, as we mentioned earlier, that’s what the people want.

 

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Never mind if many of them may not be guilty beyond reasonable doubt, or the pieces of evidence against them may not really be crystal clear.

Incidentally, the eight solons had been “picked” from among the list politician suspects by virtue of their being contractors or link to construction firms.

But if we have noticed, none of the eight are prominent national political figures, except former Rep. Zaldy Co for the FS Co. Builders Supply.

The seven others are: Rep. Edwin Gardiola — for Newington Builders Inc., Lourel Development Corp. and S-Ang General Construction & Trading Inc.; Rep. James Ang, Jr. — for IBC International Builders Corp. and Allencon Development Corp.; Rep. Jernie Jett Nisay — for JVN Construction and Trading; Rep. Augustina Pancho — for C.M. Pancho Construction Inc.; Rep. Joseph Lara — for JLL Pulsar Construction Corp.; Rep. Francisco Matugas — for Boometrix Development Corp.; and Rep. Noel Rivera — for Tarlac 3-G Construction & Development Corp.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)