Release it without blah-blah-blah

“We need to keep pressure on our own governments to force more and more transparency.”

—Mo Ibrahim

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

PUBLIC servants worth their salt should not wait for “pressure” from the taxpayers to release their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).

In the first place, it’s not pressure or whatever mixed jargon they might attempt to use as a camouflage or justification for non-compliance.

It is mandated by Republic Act 6713, also known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,

The likes of Bongbong Marcos Jr., Sara Duterte-Carpio, Tito Sotto, and other government officials and employees are required by law to submit a sworn declaration of their assets, liabilities, and net worth, as well as their financial and business interests.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution also requires the submission of SALNs.

They must release the SALNs without waiting for any Tom, Dick, and Harry to cajole them; and please, no more justifications why they can’t and why they are “entitled” to delay if not ignore it.

 

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Delay for a few days fine. But delay for several weeks and even months? And wait until the people will forget?

And they must not give a frivolous and pathetic excuse SALN will be used by their enemies as a rope to tie their necks or simply to “harass” them.

It defies logic or common sense. This line of thinking reeks of evasion and dodging in order to avoid compliance.

Why would someone harass a public servant—elected or appointed—if he is doing his job right and doesn’t steal or enrich himself while in office?

It is through SALN that public officials and government employees can help promote transparency, accountability, and to prevent corruption.

The public has the right to scrutinize their financial situations to check for unexplained wealth, potential conflicts of interest, and to ensure they are not profiting from their government service.

Through public access, media and citizens are allowed to monitor their wealth and hold them accountable for their actions.

 

-o0o-

 

SAVING OUR PLANET: Let's refresh naturally. Instead of chemical plug-in air refreshers, let's place a few slices of citrus fruit such as lemon or orange in a saucepan, together with a few cloves. Simmer the mixture gently for an hour or so to refresh the smell of our house.

SAVING OUR PLANET: Let's make our own polish. Most mass-produced polishes contain solvents that are harmful to the environment. Many of them come in aerosol sprays, which are wasteful and contain harmful gases.

SAVING OUR PLANET: Bake off stains. for hard-to-beat, stubborn stains on our kitchen surfaces, let's dampen a sponge and apply baking powder, then wipe cleans as normal. The abrasive powder will get rid of most stains, but if the mark remains, let's try re-soaking the stain with a solution of baking powder instead.

SAVING OUR PLANET: Club stains away. To keep fresh stains from sinking deep into clothes, immediately apply a little carbonated water bubbles up the stain and the salts keep the color from sticking. Then wash as normal.

(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)

 

Tension, worry cause mental illness

“The bravest thing I ever did was continuing my life when I wanted to die.”

―Juliette Lewis

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WHETHER we are children or parents of celebrities, no one deserves to die by suicide.

Regardless of social status, we also need to take care of our mental health.

To begin with, the Theory of the Four Humors was introduced by the father of medicine, Hippocrates, thousands of years ago–before Christianity, Judaism, and Islam became dominant monotheistic religions.

The Greek doctor, best remembered for his so-called “Hippocratic Oath”, believed that the secret of health lay in the proper mixture of four body fluids, blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

If the wrong mixture was present, disease resulted.

That during the Middle Ages, disease was attributed to devils, which were supposed to have entered the body, and which could be forced to leave by spells and incantations.

Earlier, in 100 B.C., immunity from disease was already being practiced.

King Mithridates tried to protect his body against certain poisons by taking increasing doses of them over a period of time.

 

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In China and India, children were clothed in the shirts, or slept in the bed, of smallpox sufferers.

Although dangerous, this often produced very mild attacks of the disease and prevented future occurrence of more severe cases.

In the 14th century, more than 25 million people died of bubonic plague in Europe.

In the 18th century, smallpox killed 60 million people throughout the world. Statistics reveals that even today over 100 million people a year have malaria in India and that about one million die of it annually.

Just as physical hygiene attempts to promote physical health, so does the newer science of mental hygiene attempt to promote mental health.

Here’s for those who carry the world on their shoulders; Atlas Shrugged, in the book of Ayn Rand.

Most authorities agree that among the chief causes of mental disease are worry, fear, unhappiness, and envy (Facebook and other social network users, take note).

They point out that all of us are subject to these emotions, but that some people are so sensitive to one or more of these that their entire outlook on life is thrown out of focus.

 

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Therefore, the most effective way of preventing mental illness is to remove causes of worry and tension, to explain the effects of such emotions to people who suffer from them, and to educate people in general to accept themselves and their lives as they are.

Mental disease often shows itself as an unreasoning fear of certain situations, or an involuntary “compulsion” to perform certain acts. (Phobia, neurosis, and psychosis are some of the terms used to name these conditions, according to Alexander A. Fried of the Department of Biological Sciences, Christopher Columbus High School in New York).

These abnormal reactions may be so mild as to cause very little inconvenience to the individual, or may be so violent as to make the person dangerous to himself or others and require commitment to an institution for special care.

Mysterious relationships exist between the mind and the body, according to some medical experts.

It is now known that mental illness can produce symptoms of physical disease in many organs of the body, when actually the organ affected is healthy and sound.

 

-o0o-

 

Headaches, upset stomachs, fever, vague pains, rashes, etc., may be signs of a known disease, or may be the effect of mental upset, doctors say.

They add that in the second case, where the symptoms are brought about by the mind, it is called a psychosomatic illness.

Many phobias and neurotic conditions have been traced to forgotten incidents in childhood, which continue to influence behavior even though the sufferer has no recollection of the event.

Methods of treatment aim at finding these causes in the patient’s “subconscious” and revealing them to him; usually the condition disappears once the patient understands its cause.

Various types of psychiatric treatment (analysis) have been proposed and used by different psychiatrists; these different methods have the same general goal of finding and removing the cause from the patient’s mind.

 

-o0o-

 

The following rules are useful in keeping mentally healthy, according to Fried:

1. Get plenty of rest, relaxation, fresh air, and good food.

2. Avoid worrying excessively. Most things that people worry about seldom happen.

3. Face your problems squarely, realistically. Be ready to make changes and adjustments in your plans to meet new situations that arise.

4. Use up some of your excess energy and strength in interesting hobbies, sports, and other types of recreation.

5. Do not magnify unimportant happenings into major events. Example: The fact that your friend didn’t smile and wave at you when he passed by was probably because he didn’t see you, not because he was angry at you.

6. Seek satisfaction from those things you do well, and from those natural advantages which you possess (we all have some). Do not yearn for things that are possible only in daydreams. Do not envy others who seem to have more than you; they are probably envying you from “their side of the fence.”

7. Set yourself a goal–certainly! But make sure that it is a realistic one–one that is within the reach of your abilities.

(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)

Iloilo Hall of Justice in the abyss

“Perfect is boring: Beauty is irregular.”

—Gloria Steinem

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

TRANSFER or repair? Or investigate first?

Instead of proposing for the transfer of the Chief Justice Q. Ramon Avanceña Hall of Justice or Iloilo Hall of Justice from Iloilo City to the Municipality of New Lucena, Iloilo Governor Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. should push to investigate the alleged irregularities in its construction.

The governor did wave a wand in the P802-M Aganan flyover project by calling the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to probe it; he can do the same in the Iloilo Hall of Justice.

It’s been more than 10 years since it was reported that several judges and past officials of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Iloilo Chapter have asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the P200-million three-story building built in 1992 for possible construction irregularities.

The move by some IBP officials came after the edifice was declared unsafe for occupation and was temporarily abandoned following the magnitude-6.9 earthquake that hit parts of the Visayas on Feb. 6, 2012.

 

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It may be recalled that the Bureau of Design of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that inspected the building in March 2012 showed the edifice had structural defects and had cracks validating the recommendation to vacate the building.

If the Iloilo Hall of Justice is transferred to another location without any conclusion in the IBP-Iloilo Chapter’s resolution asking for investigation of its construction submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, many questions will remain unanswered. It will open more Pandora boxes.

Also, Ilonggos will think there is a cover-up if indeed there were irregularities in the project conceptualized during the Cory Aquino regime.

If no one will be held accountable, the more that Ilonggos will suspect influential government officials made money from kickbacks like the scandal that hit the multi-billion flood control projects under the Duterte and Marcos Jr. regimes and some unseen hands are doing wonders to keep the scandal under wraps.

Until after a no-nonsense investigation has been conducted, the proposed transfer may not be popular move.

 

-o0o-

 

GOD BLESS YOU : Why we would have "God bless you" after a sneeze? In much the same way that it was believed man could part body and spirit and be beside himself, the ancients believed a good sneeze could literally blast your soul right out of your body! To ensure that no bad spirits moved into the vacancy, "God bless you" was said to clear the way so soul and body could reunite.

SAVING OUR PLANET: Let's disinfect naturally. Not only do disinfectants contain harsh chemicals that are damaging to the environment, they smell strong, too. Let's make our own natural disinfectant by infusing leaves of rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, sage, and thyme in water.

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

 

 

Best gift for all Filipinos

“Punishment is justice for the unjust.”

—Saint Augustine

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF Chiz Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Martin Romualdez, Zaldy Co, Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada and all other suspected flood control project anomaly thieves will be prosecuted, arrested and locked in the Quezon City jail provided by the Department of Interior of Local Government (DILG), this event will be the Marcos Jr. administration’s best Christmas gift for all Filipinos.

If the mass arrest, estimated to involve more or less 200 wrongdoers that would reportedly include senators, congressmen, DPWH employees and contractors, will be implemented in early 2026, it will be the government’s best New Year’s gift for the nation.

The people are itching to see the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) conclude its suspense-filled investigations on the multi-billion anomalies that romped off in September 2025.

They have become impatient as days go by with no single thief being manacled and placed behind bars; they want immediate results and they want it now.

 -o0o-

 The more the investigations drag on, the more that people are losing faith in the ICI’s capacity to dispense justice; their trust in the justice system continues to erode if what they see and hear are merely powderkegs in the form of press statements, not flood control project criminals spending actual time behind bars.

Especially that the ICI has chosen to conduct its investigations and hearings behind closed doors despite overwhelming uproar from public to hold them “live” so that the taxpayers can closely monitor and be given updates about the proceedings. 

People are tired and bored by episodes where ordinary individuals are arrested and photographed in the police stations like hardened criminals after stealing only a can of banana catsup and a bottle of peanut butter while the likes of Escudero and other accused of committing plunder continue receiving fat salaries and holding office in air-conditioned rooms paid by the taxpayers.  

People are fed up with the country’s double-standard of justice where the poor are always in the receiving end and the rich and famous always unabashedly running away with the pie’s largest slice and get away with it.

 

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THE easiest way to escape prosecution and jail if you’re a corrupt public official in the Philippines is to become a “son of God.”

It may sound sacrilegious for a thief to claim as “son of God” but what a heck. 

If it’s the only way to wiggle out from mess and circumvent the law, the likes of Joel Villanueva will not hesitate to even claim they belong to heaven and not on earth.

And many people believe in false prophets who ride on two horses—politics and religion—and enrich themselves while in public office.

A false prophet is a person who spreads false teachings or messages while claiming to speak the Word of God. 

False prophets also spoke on behalf of false gods in the Bible. False prophets functioned in their prophetic role illegitimately or for the purpose of deception. The Bible denounces false prophets for leading people astray.

Jesus went on to explain the grave consequences of being a false prophet: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:19–23).

(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)

 

Jail the ‘big ones’ first, worry for the ‘big one’ next

“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”

—Thomas Jefferson

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

BECAUSE of the two successive earthquakes that hit Cebu in the Visayas and Davao in Mindanao recently, Filipinos are now fearing the so-called “big one,” a projected magnitude 7.2 earthquake that could affect Metro Manila and nearby provinces as part of the West Valley Fauly's natural long-term cycle, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

And because of those deadly earthquakes, the media attention has shifted from Zaldy Co, Martin Romualdez, Chiz Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Nancy Binay, Jinggoy Estrada, Sara Duterte-Carpio, among other alleged flood control projects and intelligence funds rapscallions, respectively.

These are some of the so-called "big ones” who have not been prosecuted and convicted in competent courts.

We wish they go to jail first before any “big one” will happen, God forbid.

We hate to see headline stories against these alleged thieves in government disappear or consigned in the jumped pages when natural disasters and other fortuitous incidents occur.

 

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Of course, we wish there will be no more “big one,” the earthquake; but we are hoping more “big ones” will fall one after another.

“Big ones” or “small ones,” there must be accountability and justice. Public scrutiny must continue; the people’s vigilance and active participation to ferret out the truth is crucial and must continue.

They must be identified, investigated, tried and convicted; and, if possible, ordered to return the money they have stolen from the people.

Restitution is necessary and should be inviolable in order to complete the show.                                            

We need to send a strong message to these rascals that the taxpayers mean business when they urge and support the move by the Marcos Jr. administration to lower the boom on public officials and contractors who stole hundreds of billions of pesos via “ghost” and substandard projects, kickbacks and other illicit backdoor deals.

Already, we have noticed people grumbling and bellyaching that justice grinds slowly in the flood control project anomalies brouhaha.

 

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It’s been more than a month since the major players and culprits in the DPWH and Congress (both the upper and lower houses) have been identified and mocked in the social media and yet, no one has been manacled and sent to jail.

We understand we need to observe a due process before finally throwing the hard books at these villains, but in the issue of graft and corruption where there is overwhelming preponderance of evidence, prosecution must be expedited so that there will be no room for these bad characters to influence and whitewash the cases and deny the public the justice it richly deserves.          

In China and other countries with no-nonsense laws against graft and corruption, heads would have rolled down literally.

The war against graft and corruption must be waged in a breakneck pace and there should be no holy cows.

Sometimes people are satisfied when their government dispenses justice swiftly and with alacrity.

 

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We continue to experience a severe weather condition in New York City and New Jersey as of this writing as dangerous surf conditions continued October 13, bringing strong rip currents and beach erosion along many East Coast beaches.

More than two inches of rain were likely to fall in some spots, according to forecasters. The greatest threat for major flooding was expected to be in Long Island and southern New Jersey, reported the NBC New York.

Coastal flooding was expected to peak October 13 afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. A ground stop was issued at John F. Kennedy Airport through 2:45 p.m. due to winds.

High wind advisories were dropped Monday morning for the area, but lingering gusts can still potentially bring down trees, which could cause power outages. As of 8:30 a.m., power outages in the tri-state total 32,080.

New Jersey has been under a state of emergency since October 11 night. Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an emergency declaration for eight southern counties October 12 evening. New York's State of Emergency due to the nor'easter prompted organizers to cancel the NYC Columbus Day Parade scheduled for October 13.

 (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)