City hall uncorks 2 ‘persona’ edicts in 4 months

“You never want to hear that somebody didn't get to come to your show because they felt unwelcome or they felt like they wouldn't fit in - any of those things, it's a terrible precedent to set.”

—Brandi Rhodes

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IN four months this year, two ranking public officials have tasted the wrath of the Iloilo City Government after they were declared as persona non grata or unacceptable or unwelcome person one after the other for their supposed “culpabilities.”

In unprecedented events, two public officials got sledgehammered in June and September 2023 by City Hall.

First to be walloped with the fiat issued no less by Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas was Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran through an executive order issued on June 23, 2023 over the “uncoordinated transfer” of Badjaos from Bacolod to Iloilo City.

Second was Cooperative Development Authority (CDA-6) director Nora Patron also through an executive order for her alleged inaction on the plea for help of the City Hall and the Iloilo City Government Employees Multipurpose Cooperative (ICGEMPC).

Treñas had expressed dismay over the lack of proper coordination on the part of Familiaran after some 80 Badjaos arrived at Dumangas port in Iloilo province after being rounded up by the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) in Bacolod on June 21.

 

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The city mayor, however, revoked the executive order that declared Familiaran as persona non grata on July 13 after both Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Familiaran reportedly apologized for the mix-up in the arrival of 80 Badjaos in Iloilo.

As for the CDA regional boss, Treñas was incensed after Patron reportedly ignored their requests for a consultative meeting as early as June 2013 to intervene and resolve the woes that have bedeviled the ICGEMPC.

We aren’t sure if Treñas will also eventually revoke the executive order against Patron like what he did to Familiaran’s case, but we expect Patron to respond to the admonishment soon so as not to exacerbate the situation.

As long as the misunderstanding or miscommunication is job-related and not personal, there is always an opportunity to settle the discord and confusion.

Unlike Familiaran who is an elected official from across the island like Treñas, Patron is an appointed official who may find it hard to perform her duties and obligations as CDA chief if she isn’t at “peace” with the local chief executive.

After all, there’s a saying that “you can’t fight City Hall.”

  

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BEFORE we went to sleep September 28 before midnight, the US House GOP was planning a late-night vote on spending bills.

With just a little over a day before the federal government shuts down, the House was reportedly voting on a series of spending bills though the measures, if they pass, are expected to be dead on arrival in the Senate. 

The first of those votes passed a spending bill to fund the Department of State, foreign operations and related programs.

The United States federal government will shut down if Congress does not reach an agreement by midnight on October 30.

They have hours left before the government will have to shut down if they fail to pass a short-term spending pill.

Even the so-called continuing resolution would allow the financing of the government only until November 17. 

But it would give enough time for the House and the Senate to vote on the 12 spending bills that sum up the rules of spending some $6 trillion in the next fiscal year.

Using this recurring moment for their political benefit is a tradition for Democrats and Republicans in the US, let’s see what is at stake now, observed Heloise Urvoy of Euronews. 

 

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Why is the US government heading towards a federal shutdown?

As the past 20 or so times it happened-and the many other times it was on the verge of happening-US lawmakers, both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, cannot pass a common legislation needed to fund the federal government and its various agencies.

It mostly comes down to partisan disagreements, with Republicans and Democrats not able, or not willing, to compromise, Urvoy explained

The House’s majority is Republican, while Democrats have the Senate.

Urvoy said: “This time, Kevin McCarthy, the House speaker, is trying to push for a measure that hardline Republicans have been demanding for a while: steep federal spending cuts (about 8%), coupled with stronger border security measures. Democrats refuse to vote for the package, and even some Republican lawmakers deem it too extreme. McCarthy is struggling to please the hard-right lawmakers of his party.”

In the Senate, a bipartisan package is reportedly in the pipeline to temporarily fund the government. 

It would maintain funding at current levels and includes a national $6 billion relief funding, and the same amount to aid Ukraine in its war effort.

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

A preventive suspension made in River Styx

 

“A person who has been punished is not less inclined to behave in a given way; at best, he learns how to avoid punishment.”

— B. F. Skinner

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE 90-day preventive suspension the Sandiganbayan has meted Antique governor Rhodora Cadiao for alleged violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, was the kind of punitive measure that would ruin local chief executives.

Being forced to vacate their posts temporarily for a maximum of three months means the suspended local chief executives were half guilty of the charges leveled against them.

Even if they would be acquitted, the preventive suspension tarnished their so-called aura of invincibility.

Even if the Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division has explained that “a preventive suspension is necessary to forestall the possibility that the accused may use one’s office to intimidate witnesses, or frustrate the prosecution of the case, or continue committing malfeasance” and may be lifted after upon expiration of the 90-day period, it’s already a psychological defeat for the accused, in this case Cadiao.

That’s why we call it as a preventive suspension made in the River Styx.

If anyone bathes in the River Styx and survives, according to the Greek mythology, that person will bear the Curse of Achilles and become invulnerable to most physical attacks, excluding a small spot on their body that if struck will instantly kill them.

Future political rivals would be emboldened to topple the erstwhile unconquered Cadiao now that she has been “blooded” by the pesky preventive suspension.

 

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Many local chief executives—village chiefs, mayors, governors, particularly—facing graft charges were never the same again politically after being canned for 90 days.

We know a lot of swaggering mayors and governors in Western Visayas and even in Metro Manila who got clobbered in the next elections after being slammed by the Sandiganbayan and even by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for 90 days. 

Not all suspended local chief executives though were found guilty after serving their suspension. 

There were preventive suspensions, especially those handed down by the DILG, which were political in nature.

The late former Iloilo City mayor Rodolfo “Roding” Ganzon claimed in 1989 he was suspended by the DILG after he opposed the Cory administration’s Small Town Lottery (STL) project, an accusation the Malacanang had denied.

In Cadiao’s case, the preventive suspension did not come because she stole from the public coffer and got caught.

It’s more of a case of alleged harassment or abuse of power and authority by a Goliath over David in a public office, which should serve as a warning to other “vindictive” political leaders in power. 

It stemmed from her 2016 order reassigning then Provincial General Services Office chief Antonio Dela Vega to the capitol’s Culasi satellite office some 100 kilometers away from the capital town of San Jose, where the seat of provincial government is located.

 

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Dela Vega contested the validity of Cadiao’s order before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as he believed it was “tantamount to constructive dismissal.”

The CSC gave credence to Dela Vega’s complaint and in March 2017 subsequently ordered him reinstated to his original office in the provincial capitol.

The CSC also ordered the provincial government to pay Dela Vega his representation and travel allowance (RATA) among other benefits due him covering the time he was reassigned to Culasi from July 2016 to February 2018.

When he failed to get the benefits due him as ordered by the CSC, Dela Vega sued the lady governor before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas in 2018.

Among Dela Vega’s allegations was that Cadiao did not sign his daily time record (DTR) resulting in the failure of both the provincial accountant and provincial treasurer to process the release of his benefits.

The Ombudsman found probable cause to indict Cadiao for one count violation of Section 3(e) of RA 3019 in a resolution dated Sept. 2, 2019 signed by Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Paul Elmer Clemente and approved by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Oct. 22, 2021.

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

 

 

Difficult to justify; mayor apologizes

“Integrity, transparency and the fight against corruption have to be part of the culture. They have to be taught as fundamental values.”

—Angel Gurria 

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

EVEN if Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio will hire the best accountants and spin masters in the Philippines to help her wiggle out from her present predicament, the P125 million representing the “confidential funds” her office had “spent” for only 11 days, according to the Commission on Audit (COA), is hard to justify.

No mathematician, auditor and accounting expert can camouflage and smokescreen a suspected blatant misappropriation of public funds in such a lousy and outrageous manner.    

She is expected—and will be forced—to issue alibis and justifications whether she likes it or don’t, for she cannot ignore the growing and hostile demands from various sectors and irate taxpayers for her to explain how the money was used in such uncanny fashion and hurtle.

She has to liquidate it by all means. Transparency and accountability can’t be shrugged off especially if it involves millions of pesos in public funds.

As concurrently the secretary of education, she has to face the issue squarely and refrain from hiding behind the blouses of her undersecretaries. 

 

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Mrs. Duterte-Carpio can’t just brush aside the burning issue and divert the people’s attention by resorting to name-calling and lambasting lawmakers like Sen. Riza Hontiveros and Rep. France Castro who demanded for her accountability.

That’s a PR disaster nonpareil. It’s a fatal way of handling a very difficult and embarrassing crisis in connection with the “confidential funds.”

By being sardonic amid this humiliating situation, she will only further sink her own body in the quicksand.

Where’s the humility, couth, and professionalism? 

Doesn’t she have advisers and consultants for crisis management? Better still, does she listen to them?

Did the hard-hitting ex-president fret about his daughter’s scandalous misadventure?

He should have at least done something as a father and a fellow public servant to stop her on her tracks when it became known all over the country that the daughter appeared to have mishandled her office’s “confidential funds.”    

Instead of being belligerent and angry, Vice President Duterte-Carpio should have spoken meekly and calmly. She can’t win this gory battle in the bar of public opinion. 

When you are accused of abusing and messing around with the people’s money, you’ll be rebuked and loathed even if your popularity is skyrocketing. 

Taxpayers can tolerate incompetence in public service, but not a whiff of graft and corruption and a potential plunder.

 

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In a rare act by a local chief executive, Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas has apologized for the conduct of several city hall contractual employees and a permanent employee implicated in a case of theft recently.

“One regular employee and 5 casual employees of the city government under the City Engineers Office have been reported to have been involved in the theft of active main copper wires of the Pldt,” the mayor wrote in his Facebook account. 

“They are given the option of resigning from their employment immediately or face criminal and administrative cases. In behalf of the city government, I apologize for these employees. We will always endeavor to prove that they are the exceptions rather than the rule in the city government.”

 

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IT IS STILL A TECHNICAL DEPORTATION, GENERAL. Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. has insisted he was not deported by the Canadian immigration authorities who reportedly gave him plenty of trouble upon his arrival at the Langley Airport in Canada recently.

Report said he was subjected to intense questioning about the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Because he couldn’t stand the heat in the kitchen, the retired general claimed he opted to take a flight back to the Philippines, as reported in the Philippine Star, to avoid further “harassment” by immigration authorities.

The Canadian immigration authorities were reportedly interested to know the details about the Duterte drug war, and even asked Azurin about incumbent senators allied with the previous administration.

By taking a flight back to his airport of origin after a nightmarish experience in the Canadian immigration, it’s still a technical deportation. For whatever reason, we will never know unless the Canadian authorities will tell us.

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

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

Tommy’s sleeplessness and our mortality

“The pain of loneliness seems to be part of the mortal experience. But the Lord in His mercy has made it so that we need never deal with the challenges of mortality alone.”

—Sheri L. Dew

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

UNKNOWN to my visiting friend from Vancouver, Tommy Choy. Jr., I silently grappled to understand my own mortality while listening to his lament he has been struggling with a sleep problem.

Like him, I also struggle to have a good sleep at night. Like him, I suspect my oxygen levels drop when I go to sleep, thus the carbon dioxide levels possibly build up in my blood. I’d be lucky if I dozed off for more than two hours every night.

We’re aware the condition could lead to morning headaches, fatigue and sleepiness during the day, which I have experienced.

But I don’t feel what Tommy feels. I haven’t experienced losing weight drastically. Tommy did lose weight—like a featherweight UFC brawler impairing to straw weight; a trace of crimson is visible in the façade.  

Tommy, a part time writer for Surrey-based Philippine Asian News Today and a successful realtor, said he doesn’t have worries with his liver and kidneys except for the “little” issues with his heart.   

“I need to walk as much as possible even if I sometimes lose my balance. I need to do it slowly unlike before. I need to hold on to something when I take the stairs, if possible. If I fall and hit my head on the ground, it will be my end,” he chortled. “Protect your head, Alex. Don’t fall.”

It’s been four years since we last met, and everything hadn’t changed except Tommy’s physical appearance and honest-to-goodness confession: “I feel weak when I can’t sleep. There are nights that I can hardly sleep, and this has been bothering me a lot. But if I am able to sleep, I’m like a baby.”

 

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Was the septuagenarian from Vancouver envisaging his predestination?

Health issues have slowed down the effervescent Tommy, 71, a successful realtor who now dabbles in part time writing and spends his time meeting with friends—old and new— “if I feel okay.”

“Every time I feel weak, I tell the Lord if it’s my time, I’m ready for you,” he quipped.

Tommy emphasized: “Sleep is important to us. Our body needs rest. We can do many productive things if we have enough sleep. Our mind can function effectively, and we can think clearly and do our tasks efficiently if we have a good sleep. You should sleep more, Alex.”

Health experts have warned of short-term problems we will encounter if we don’t log enough hours of sleep. These are lack of alertness. Even missing as little as 1.5 hours can have an impact on how we feel; excessive daytime sleepiness. It can make us very sleepy and tired during the day. 

Also impaired memory. Lack of sleep can affect our ability to think, remember and process information. Relationship stress. It can make us feel moody and we can become more likely to have conflicts with others.

Also, our quality of life. We may become less likely to participate in normal daily activities or to exercise, and greater likelihood for car accidents. Drowsy driving accounts for thousands of crashes, injuries and fatalities each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

 

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Tommy wished me luck on my “new life” in New York. He suggested that I “connect only with the right people who can help you with your livelihood and happiness and not waste your time with those who cannot help you and have nothing to do with your passion.”

As a “hard-hitting” journalist, Tommy said I must build my own defense like playing chess. “When the queen falls, you lose the match,” he warned.

“You must focus on your passion as a writer, avoid getting involved in the conflict of others, and keep your faith in God.”

“Also,” Tom added, “we should avoid salty food or salty sauce. Salt isn’t unhealthy unless we eat too much of it. 

Tommy warned that too much salt intake can lead to serious health problems when liquid goes down and stays in our legs and stomach. 

Doctors said hyperuricemia, an abnormally high level of uric acid in the blood associated especially with the disease gout, happens if too much uric acid stays in our body. 

Hyperuricemia reportedly causes uric acid to clump together in sharp crystals. These crystals can settle in our joints and cause gout, a painful form of arthritis. They can also build up in our kidneys and form kidney stones.

According to health authorities, salt and sodium aren’t the same things. Salt is composed of two minerals — about 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride. Sodium is what can negatively affect our health if we consume too much.

But our body also needs sodium to survive, health experts said. In small amounts, it helps our nerves and muscles function properly and balances fluid in the body.

According to Dr. Julia Zumpano we need a minimum of 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day. Going below that leads to low blood pressure and electrolyte imbalances in our blood. Signs of too little sodium include: Dizziness. Headache. Lack of energy. Muscle fatigue. Nausea.

We have been warned of the effects of eating too much salt. A sodium-heavy diet makes us retain fluid, which leads to swelling in the short term. 

But far more concerning is its impact on our body over time. Zumpano said excess sodium intake can negatively affect our kidney function. It also leads to high blood pressure, the top risk factor for stroke.

“If you only check your blood pressure once a year at your checkup, it could be normal that day,” explained Zumpano. “Perhaps you’ve fasted, had a cup of coffee, peed a lot, and so your blood pressure seems fine. But it might not be so normal if you were tested after eating out at a restaurant.”

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

 

 

First AI-assisted lawyers?

“AI is a tool. The choice about how it gets deployed is ours.”

—Oren Etzioni

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

CAN the Philippines produce lawyers with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) this year?

If authorities (in this case, the Supreme Court of the Philippines) will allow it, possible; if not, it’s impossible.

For sure, SC will never even think about it in as far as the Bar tests are concerned—in whatever application. Never today and in the future.

It would be unfair to this year’s Bar exam passers if their success was attributed to AI, or for whatever “help” AI could lend. 

The ascription was nightmarish for successful Bar examinees; It’s highly deplorable, disgusting, damaging and must be forcefully corrected immediately. 

AI has been known as a machine's ability to perform the cognitive functions usually associated with human minds, such as perceiving, reasoning, learning, interacting with an environment, problem solving, and even exercising creativity.

Good thing that Supreme Court Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, chair of this year’s bar examinations, has already debunked and even denounced as “false information” that the 2023 Bar examinations will be “sorted, checked, and corrected by means of artificial intelligence.”

The quicker he issued the statement the better before merchants of half-truths and chaos can succeed in tainting the credibility of the Bar exam results.

 

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Hernando has asserted “the 2023 Bar examinations shall be checked by four examiners per subject, all of whom are established experts in their respective fields, and who are by no means created or powered by artificial intelligence.”

“For the longest time, Bar Examinees have had to endure several months of perceived agony of waiting before the results of the professional licensure exams for future lawyers are released,” he added in a statement.

Hernando also said: “The initial probe commenced by the Office of the 2023 Bar Chair has unveiled the identity of the administrator of both Facebook accounts. The Court is currently undertaking proper measures against the said individual, particularly, the prompt engagement of the National Bureau of Investigation in the conduct of criminal investigation of the nefarious activities and questionable circumstances surrounding this personality.”

The last day of the three-day Bar examinations was on Sept. 24.  Covered subjects were Criminal Law and Remedial Law in the morning and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises in the afternoon.

 

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Rumors of AI intervention may have surfaced after Hernando announced early this month the 2023 Bar examinations might be released in early December or before Christmas Day.

Everything that is new will always attract skepticism and malicious innuendo. 

“This year, however, following the examples of my recent predecessors as Bar Chair, the time spent by the Examinees waiting in agony for the results of the exams will be cut short: my team and I are eyeing the release of the results of the 2023 Bar Examinations in early December before Christmas Day,” he explained.

“Yes, you heard me right, the results will, God-willing, come out in early December, before Christmas Day.”

He also announced there would be simultaneous oath-taking and signing of the Roll of Attorneys in the same month to ensure that a new batch of lawyers will be produced before the year ends.

“It will be an additional reason for those who will hurdle the Bar Exams to celebrate the Holiday Season,” the SC associate justice said.

He added: “This year’s Bar Examinations are divided into six core subjects: Political and Public International Law (15%); Commercial and Taxation Laws (20%); Civil Law (20%); Labor Law and Social Legislation (10%); Criminal Law (10%); and Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises (25%). From today, there will be two more exam dates which are September 20 and 24.”

 

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A US House of Representatives Oversight panel was scheduled to hold its first hearing in the impeachment inquiry of President Joseph “Joe” Biden. 

A committee spokesperson told CNN that the hearing would focus on the constitutional and legal questions Republicans were raising about Biden. 

While the witnesses were still being finalized, House Oversight Chairman James Comer told CNN he planned to have a financial expert speak about the bank records he has uncovered pertaining to the Biden family’s business dealings and a constitutional expert to discuss why an impeachment inquiry is warranted. 

The panel was also poised to issue its first subpoenas to the president’s son and brother, Hunter and James Biden, according to the spokesperson.

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

 

 

 

Because it’s defective

“One sees qualities at a distance and defects at close range.” 

— Victor Hugo

 By Alex P. Vidal

 

DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) OIC regional director Sonny Boy Oropel appeared to be unhappy with the criticism they received from the media and the public after he announced the temporary or “soft” opening of the scandal-ridden and defective P680-million (plus P200 million for “repair”) Ungka flyover (UFO) in Pavia, Iloilo starting September 21.

If they didn’t open the controversial flyover, they got a flak, he moaned. And now that they decided to open is temporarily, they still got negative feedback.

“I can’t understand,” he reportedly averred in vernacular.

The main issue here was not whether the flyover would be opened to motorists.

It’s the defective project as a whole that is problematic. 

After being initially opened to traffic on Sept. 5, 2022, the flyover, which straddles Jaro district and Brgy. Ungka 2 in Pavia, was closed two weeks later due to the vertical displacement of the structure.

And the taxpayers have all the right to revolt. Is this hard to understand? 

 

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RP HEARD AGAIN BUT RUSSIAN STOLE THE SHOW. The Philippines, represented by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo, was finally given the opportunity to be heard in the morning session of the 78^th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 23.

Aside from the Philippines, other speakers came from the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cape Verde, Somalia, Laos, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Azerbaijan, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Armenia, Iceland, Egypt.

They were overshadowed by Russian Foreign Sergey Lavrov, who claimed power was slipping through the hands of the old order, dominated by Washington, which has long rejected the principle of equality.

Lavrov told delegates: “Americans and Europeans “make all sorts of promises…and then just don’t fulfill them.”

Quoting President Vladimir Putin, he said the West was “truly an empire of lies” which even during the battle against Nazism in World War Two, had plotted an offensive against their Soviet allies.

Manalo said in his speech the UN spirits calls upon all to decisively respond to existential threats such as global warming, degrading ecosystem, diseases and food security.

 

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He dded: “We must configure our work to the realities of our time, placing people and communities at the heart of our agenda, refocusing consensus through differences and recognizing the agency of many voices, not only the powerful few, in shaping our shared future.”

Manalo emphasized that The Philippines advocates for the peaceful settlement of disputes, in accordance with international law, adding: “This has always been our position with respect to the disputes in the West Philippine Sea, inasmuch as we are prepared to defend our sovereignty, sovereign rights and territorial integrity.”

Humanity remains in danger from too many destructive and disruptive weapons in existence, he continued.  With thousands of nuclear warheads still present and the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty unrealized, heightened arms races and new ways of warfare - including in the cyber and space domains — have transformed the strategic landscape in the twenty-first century.  

 

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“The rule of law must reign all the more,” he stressed.  Advocating for the peaceful uses of outer space and greater responsibility among States to reduce space threats, he also stressed that new technology cannot be weaponized or misused in any way that subverts democracy and freedom, challenges international humanitarian law, exploits the vulnerable and violate human rights.

Further, he called for industrialized countries to abide by their obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement on climate change.  

The continued reform of the UN Development System is key to ensuring that the Organization delivers transformative development outcomes. “Solidarity sets the ground for international cooperation as we reinforce the global health-security system, following the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he emphasized, reiterating calls for equity in the provision of vaccines.  

“We must never again witness a global emergency of such scale wherein those in most need will be provided for last,” he added.  

The Philippines will continue to advocate for the human rights of vulnerable groups, especially women, children, Indigenous Peoples, migrants, persons with disabilities, refugees and older persons, he declared. (With reports from UN News)

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

 

Did airport screener swallow fentanyl-laced dollar bills?

“Poison is in everything, and nothing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy.”

—Paracelsus

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

IF the dollar bills allegedly swallowed recently by an Office of Transportation Security (OTS) screener at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) contained fentanyl, she could be dead today.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Powdered fentanyl is commonly mixed with heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs and is extremely dangerous. 

The CDC said that more than 150 people die every day in the United State from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients, fentanyl is up to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

And since 2018, fentanyl-laced pill seizures by law enforcement has increased nearly 50-fold amid a period of record-high overdose deaths, a recent study found.

That’s why we must give the embattled OTS screener the benefit of the doubt when she reportedly claimed in her affidavit she swallowed chocolates, not the $300 bills that belonged to a departing Chinese passenger at the NAIA early this month.

Chocolates can’t kill; dollar bills with fentanyl can.

If she was telling a lie and what she swallowed were really US dollar bills, somebody should tell her to see a doctor right away.

 

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The OTS screener, who was suspended and is now facing charges together with her alleged cohorts, was caught in the closed circuit-television (CCTV) footage swallowing something after the Chinese passenger reported that his $300 was missing.

Authorities in Tennessee, USA had warned residents not to pick up discarded folded dollar bills because they may contain fentanyl.

The Perry County Sheriff's Office said there were two incidents where "a white powdery substance" was found inside folded US dollar bills left on the floor of a local gas station.

The powder was tested and came back positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook statement.

"This is very dangerous, folks! Please share and educate your children to not pick up the money," Sheriff Nick Weems said. 

"I personally plan to push for legislation for a bill that would intensify the punishment, if someone is caught using money as a carrying pouch for such poison. It enrages me as a father and the Sheriff, that people can act so carelessly and have no regard for others well-being, especially a child."

 

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Below is the email I received from New York Governor Kathy Hochul which she also sent to other New Yorkers:

Alex, During my first week in office, when New York was hit by Hurricane Ida, I visited homes in Queens, Staten Island, and beyond and saw the devastation communities faced firsthand.

I’ll never forget meeting Murphy, an East Elmhurst resident, who was sound asleep when the flooding began. Water continuously crept in until two of his basement windows crashed open, forcing the water up to his neck. He swam for his life until first responders put their own lives on the line to save Murphy and countless other New Yorkers.

Since then, we've faced multiple "hundred-year storms," which are arriving more frequently than their moniker suggests.

In the past few months alone, we had blizzards in Buffalo bring the most snowfall the state had ever seen in a 24-hour period. We faced devastating flooding in the Hudson Valley that washed away streets and cars. We saw orange skies from wildfires that made New York City and Syracuse experience the worst air quality on the planet.

These events are glaring reminders that while we are the first generation that has felt the impact of climate change, we are the last generation to be able to do anything about it.

Climate inaction is not an option — so New York is stepping up.  

We authorized $4.2 billion for the Environmental Bond Act to help preserve and restore New York’s natural resources and clean water, while supporting green jobs.
Earlier this year, we set a national precedent by requiring all-electric building construction by 2029.

I joined 25 other U.S. Climate Alliance governors to tackle building emissions and lower energy costs, committing to the ambitious goal of installing 20 million heat pump installations by 2030.
We began construction on the Champlain Hudson Power Express converter station—the first major fossil fuel site to be converted to a clean energy facility in New York City.

We’re investing $200 million to help low-income families make their homes more efficient and lower their energy bills, because clean energy and energy affordability go hand-in-hand.

Climate change is the defining challenge of our era. 

Alex, together we can and will make a profound difference and protect all that we love about New York. Ever Upward, Gov. Kathy Hochul

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

 

UN junket

“With power comes the abuse of power. And where there are bosses, there are crazy bosses. It's nothing new.” 

—Judd Rose

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE presence of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, representing President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in the 78^th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City from September 18-26, 2023, was already enough.

It was not necessary for the overburdened Filipino taxpayers to spend more for the travel of Manalo’s companions composed of several cabinet officials and League of Cities in the Philippines (LCP) executives.

Why would these junketers be part of the “delegation” when all the activities and the important speech to be delivered “on behalf of President Marcos” during the UNGA General Debate would be done only by Manalo?

For instance, when Manalo represented the Philippine Government in the fissile material cut-off treaty September 19 with Japan and Australia ministers, the presence of those junketers was no longer necessary.

How urgent is the presence of the junketers in the week-long UNGA that would warrant additional expenses representing their round-trip air tickets, allowances, hotel bills, etcetera, from Juan dela Cruz?

When it comes to junket and waste of people’s money, the Philippines has always been in the frontline. 

A fissile material cutoff treaty, by the way, would ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes. 

 

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The Philippines joined Japan and Australia in urging the international community to negotiate treaty to curb fissile materials during the September 19 conference.

Fissile materials, principally highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium, are the essential ingredients for building nuclear weapons. The effective control and elimination of fissile materials is an essential step toward effective non-proliferation and a precondition for nuclear disarmament.

As of the beginning of 2022, the global stockpile of HEU is reportedly approximately 1,250 tons, which is a decrease of 190 tons from the 1,440-ton stockpile in 2011.

This is reportedly enough HEU to make approximately 84,000 first-generation implosion bombs of the Nagasaki type. Approximately 88 percent of this HEU is available for or in weapons. Approximately 99.66 percent of the global stockpile of HEU is located in the nine nuclear weapon states, while the remaining .33 percent is located in Norway and Australia for civilian purposes. Russia owns 54.4 percent of global HEU, followed by the United States with 39 percent.

 

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Before the 78^th UNGA, Manalo was quoted in the Philippine press as saying, “On behalf of President Marcos, I will deliver the Philippine National Statement during the UNGA General Debate... I will articulate the Philippines’ advocacies for respect for the rule of law and ambitious climate action, as well as our achievements and aspirations as a middle-income economy with an important voice in global affairs.”

There was no mention of the role the junketers would perform while joining Manalo in the expensive US trip.

Manalo had noted that the country would organize side events during the high-level week, which includes the Skilling, Upskilling and Reskilling for a Resilient Workforce, co-hosted with Indonesia and Laos, on Sept. 17; the High-Level Event Promoting the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, co-hosted with Japan and Australia, on Sept. 19 and the Ministerial Roundtable on Migration, Environment and Climate Change in the Asia Pacific Region on Sept. 21.

Some of those who traveled with Manalo were officials from DFA, Department of Environment and Natural Resources led by Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, Department of Health led by Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, National Economic Development Authority led by Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon, and Department of Finance.

 

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IMPORTANT UNGA EVENT.  I missed the opening of the 78^th UNGA on September 18, which happened to be my birthday, because it was raining the whole day in New York. The UN Headquarters is located two blocks away from my workplace in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan. 

On September 21, 2023, Ambassador James O’Brien, Head of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, was scheduled to host a roundtable discussion with environmental defenders and NGOs on the margins of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level week. 

The discussion would focus on ways to confront and prevent violence against environmental defenders. UNGA high-level week provides an opportunity to advance key White House priorities related to protecting human rights, Indigenous peoples and local communities, and combating nature crimes including trafficking in timber, wildlife, and precious metals and gemstones.

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