Frustrated taxpayers feel like they want to lynch the crooks

“Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we're tired of hearing promises that we know they'll never keep.”

—Ray Davies

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

SWIFT justice? Yes, if there is such thing. Prolong investigations? No way.

We aren’t convinced anymore especially when a partylist solon recently disclosed that a “tri-committee” composed of the House of Representatives committees on public accounts, public works and good government will lead an investigation into alleged anomalies in flood control projects nationwide.

C’mon, give us a break. Refrain from mesmerizing us, Mr. Congressman.

“We will wait for the completion of the members of the committees,” Bicol Saro party-ist Rep Terry Ridon said, adding that the House is awaiting the full list of infrastructure projects expected to be submitted to President Marcos by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Ridon said the investigation will cover not only completed projects but also those that are “uncompleted,” “delayed,” “substandard” and “ghost” or non-existent.

We all know people won’t be satisfied with mere investigation, or prolonged investigation by any legislative body where politicians will only strut around like peacocks, grandstand, and pretend they care for the taxpayers’ money.

 

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Not anymore. No more. Heads must roll. We know who these thieves are. We know where they are “hiding.”

The President has disclosed their identities. Law enforcements must act quick; and they must act now.

Legislative investigations are good and sometimes necessary to ferret out some vital facts, but history shows they are not assurances the taxpayers will get justice from the ruffians who steal billions of pesos.

In fact, if we ask the people one by one, they want to lynch corrupt contractors and their political benefactors who pocketed the hundreds of billions of pesos in those wasted, ghosts, and useless flood-control projects.

The people are aware these dishonest and good-for-nothing contractors and contractor-dummies, the DPWH sycophants and elected public officials who acted as contractors know how to easily wiggle out from the mess by using the oodles of funds they have fleeced from public coffers.

They can bribe their way out from any responsibility and culpability. We have bunch of corrupt members of legislature, prosecutors, judiciary, law enforcers, media, local chief executives.

People are getting hopeless and tired of hearing expose after expose about massive graft and corruption. They continued to pay taxes and their lives don’t improve.

 

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The crooks and rascals continued to steal and get away with their shenanigans—and get elected every election.

No less than DPWHS Secretary Manuel Bonoan has confirmed that there were ghost flood control projects in Bulacan worth billions of pesos that were supposedly carried out from 2021 to 2022.

Bonoan made the revelation during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on massive flooding and the government’s flood control program.

“In all honesty, I think so. Yes. As mentioned in my statements, there are district offices that try to continue the validation. Let me just point out that some of the projects (were) implemented in 2021 -2022,” Bonoan admitted.

Bonoan said that of the P9 billion worth of projects secured by Wawao Builders nationwide, 85 projects were in Bulacan, amounting to P5.971 billion, and that “some seem to be ghost projects.”

Wawao Builders is among the top 15 contractors named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that received a large chunk of the government’s flood control projects over the years.

 

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NEW FORMAT. Don’t be surprised if we have a new format in the US Open, which has blasted off here in New York City.

The revamped US Open mixed doubles tournament has drawn plenty of criticism for everything from its format (shorter matches) to its field (only 16 teams).

Nevertheless, it got underway August 19 and was already down to its final four as of this writing, with the trophy and $1 million prize at stake August 20 night.

Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek, the No. 3 seeds, easily won their two matches and would be facing the top-seeded duo of Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper in one semifinal August 20.

Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the only traditional mixed doubles team in the fast-pace event, were scheduled to meet Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison—who weren't even the draw until Jannik Sinner and Katerina Siniakova withdrew August 19 morning because of Sinner's illnes— in the other.

"This is the official mixed doubles. If we get to the final tomorrow, I'm sure everyone is going to be pretty determined to try to win this thing," Ruud said, quoted by ESPN.

 

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With mostly singles players, some who rarely play doubles at all, and an unusual scoring system, it felt so much like an exhibition that Pegula had to scold partner Draper when he called it just that in their news conference, reported the ESPN.

Those types of Grand Slam singles champions are exactly the types of players the U.S. Tennis Association was seeking when it revamped the tournament and cut it in down from 32 teams.

Now played over two days, mixed doubles started well before the singles tournaments begin on August 24, with organizers believing singles stars would be more interested in playing if it didn't interfere with their rest and recovery during that event.

Traditional doubles specialists like Errani and Vavassori were among the biggest critics of the changes, according toESPN. The prize of $1 million to the winning team would be a huge boost to doubles players, but most of them never had a chance of competing for it this year. Errani and Vavassori said they were playing for those teams but also acknowledged the potential benefit of the new event.

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

 

Hello, U.S. Open

“Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.”

— Robert Frost

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

I CONSIDER myself very lucky that August 28, a Monday and my only off day in the week, was the official opening day of the 2023 US Open tennis championships at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows—Corona Park, Queens.

The most prestigious tennis tournament in the world next to London’s Wimbledon actually started on August 22 until September 10, 2023, but August 28 was officially the day of the first round of the championships that pitted the world’s best tennis players led by defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in men’s division and Iga Swiatek of Poland in the distaff side.

The venue is 15 minutes by walk away from where I live in Elmhurst, or five minutes away by ride in the elevated 7 train, thus I had the privilege of witnessing some of the great matches in the men’s and women’s divisions since 2015 and shared them to my readers in the past. 

Since I was expected to be back to work Tuesday morning (August 29), I would surely miss Alcaraz’s scheduled encounter versus Dominik Koepfer on Tuesday night (August 29), a match to provide an extra day to set aside the distractions and hype that were already starting even before he won the title last year and have snowballed since.

 

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“Well, my life changed a lot, a lot,” Alcaraz said this week with a smile, quoted by Associated Press. “Probably it’s a different life, talking about the way that I’m more, let’s say, famous. A lot of people are starting to know my name after the U.S. Open last year, for example.”

His victory over Casper Ruud made Alcaraz the first teenager to win the U.S. Open men’s title since Pete Sampras in 1990. Sampras, though, didn’t immediately shoot to stardom, not with John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors still around and Andre Agassi having already burst onto the scene.

The much-awaited matches scheduled on Day 1 were that of Novak Djokovic versus Frances Tiafoe, among other matches.

Swiatek, 22, ranked No. 1, won the championship last year and she has returned to start the 2023 edition of the event against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden.

 

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Tiafoe, 25, of Maryland, who reached his first major semifinal at last year’s US Open, will face Learner Tien, a 17-year-old from California.

The night matches were led off by 19-year-old Gauff of Florida versus Laura Siegemund of Germany, who won the women's doubles title in New York three years ago. Gauff lost to Swiatek at the French Open in singles and doubles last year.

Twenty three-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic’s match versus Alexandre Muller of France was to wrap up the night session.

Muller is making his US Open debut. 

Djokovic missed the Open last year when he couldn't travel to the United States as a foreigner after he refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19. That rule has been dropped and this year marks his return to the event.

The 2023 U.S. Open, similar to many of the other major tennis tournaments this year, will incorporate game-changing artificial intelligence technology, Fox News’ Chantz Martin reported.

Martin said millions of fans were once again expected to watch the action via more traditional methods, such as television, while others will likely engage with the tournament via the app and other digital platforms.

IBM’s data center reportedly “has a significant footprint inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.” 

The facility is reportedly used to gather and analyze millions of data points for the U.S. Open’s digital platforms. This year’s tournament will reportedly also utilize AI commentary.

“The tech uses a first-of-its-kind sports computer vision module that collects and analyzes data on a given player’s specific movements,” disclosed Martin.

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

 

 

 

‘Am I that easy to forget?’

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”

—John F. Kennedy

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

I WAS on my way to the Main Street in Flushing, Queens on board an elevated 7 Train August 30 midday when I decided to drop by at the Mets/Willets Point Station, where most passengers disembarked to watch the 2021 U.S. Open opening day matches.

I took advantage of the open gate and entered via the boardwalk leading to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens. 

If I decide to comeback to the platform and wait for the next train to the Main Street (the trip’s final destination) after the visit to the U.S. Open, I would just walk in using the same (open) gate, I told myself.

In the U.S. Open entrance, I saw most of the tennis fans flocking to the first in-person U.S. Open in two years being forced to endure hours-long leading to “completely chaotic” and dangerous crowding outside the stadium.

The full capacity tournament drew thousands of visitors who were mostly Caucasians from Europe (based on their dialects), Canada and the host United States despite the pandemic.

 

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But while the event was slated to begin at 11 a.m., many fans complained they were forced to wait outside for close to two hour—keeping them from some of the early matches and leaving attendees at risk of heat-related illness as confirmed by the Gothamist.

A Greenpoint resident who previously worked at the U.S. Open and has been coming to the tournament for more than two decades, told the Gotamist the lines and confusion were unprecedented.

“It was out of control,” said Jessica Pearson. “There was no crowd control from the stadium all the way back to the subway.”

The U.S. Tennis Association said in a statement the delays were primarily caused by fans bringing an “inordinate number of bags this year.” 

The USTA also said that patrons had arrived at the gates earlier than usual. "Previously, the number of patrons arriving to the grounds prior to 11 a.m. averaged approximately 10,000," the group said. "This year, the number arriving prior to 11 a.m. was only 3,000."

Others speculated that a last-minute decision to require COVID-19 vaccinations at the tournament was to blame. 

 

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The USTA announced the mandate on August 27, after facing criticism for their original plan not to require vaccines or masks.

Pearson said the hold-up seemed at least in part due to broken metal detectors and a lack of staff. However, the association denied that vaccination requirement was a factor.

“The slow down seems to be centered on the Bag Check area,” the USTA statement noted. “The process to check proof of vaccination seems to be working smoothly and is not a major contributor hampering entrance to the site.

At some points, the Gotahmist said the queue appeared to severely clog parts of the Mets-Willets Point subway station. “Worst line in US Open history,” wrote one attendee. “I was in the 7 train tunnel.”

The bottleneck appeared to clear by around 2 p.m., just in time for fans to catch Andy Murray and his reassembled hip take on the third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

At 7 p.m., Naomi Osaka—winner of the 2018 and 2020 U.S. Opens—was playing Marie Bouzkova.

 

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Meanwhile, when I returned to the open gate leading back to the train platform, a burly male Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) staff blocked my way as the two New York Police Department (NYPD) cops standing nearby watched.

“Where’s your (subway train) ticket, sir?” the MTA staff, a look-alike of Wesley Snipes, hollered followed by three steps backward (I thought his action was overacting because I wore a mask).

“I was here a while ago. I only disembarked from the train just to take some photos in the U.S. Open,” I nicely retorted. “I’m back to resume my trip to the Main Street.”

He backpedalled once more like Floyd Mayweather Jr. dodging a Manny Pacquiao wallop. Another OA acrobatic because, I must insist, I wore a mask.

“You saw me a while ago when I left the train and approached this (open) gate,” I added, smiling. “Am I that easy to forget, sir?” 

Mr. “Wesley Snipes” then pointed to the platform inside the gate and loudly mandated, “Go, get inside!”

I thanked him nevertheless for not letting me spend another $2.75 for the train fare.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

Standing position

“I hate summer, to be honest. I hate dressing. I hate the heat. I hate sweaty people getting aggressively close to you when you're walking down the street.”
-- Johnny Weir

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- When I take the 7 train from the 90th Station in Elmhurst going to the last station in the Flushing’s Main Street in Queens nowadays, I have to agonize in standing all the way to my final destination which is four stations away.
Once I got inside, only few seats were available in the 11-car train managed by the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) even for a short distance.
The culprit: US Open 2018.
The train was always packed with Caucasian passengers and tennis fans mostly from Europe who go to the Mets-Willets Point Station, located three stations away or 15 to 20 minutes by walk from where I stay.
Because it’s summer season and heat is extreme, I need to take the 7 train if I want to watch the matches; walking is only possible for me if it’s fall, spring or winter (Conditions were so intense August 28, Tuesday, that Novak Djokovic and his opponent used ice baths to cool down during their opening match. Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis retired due to a heat illness and Stefano Travaglia retired because of cramps, according to tournament referee Brian Earley. Leonardo Mayer of Argentina said he also retired from his match against Laslo Djere due to the heat, and he added that his blood pressure dropped and he was feeling dizzy).
Mets-Willets Point Station is where fans of the US Open 2018 disembark if they come from Manhattan or from the Main Street in Flushing.

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Most of them stay in Manhattan hotels located 20 minutes away by train ride from the Queens, thus they need to travel by MTA train that passes through the sub way to the elevated railway.
Baseball fans also arrive in the same station (Mets-Willets Point) when they to to the Citi Field, a baseball park located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, located adjacent to the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the US Open 2018 is being held.
Completed in 2009, the imposing Citi Field is the home field of the New York Mets of the National League division of Major League Baseball.
Meanwhile, all seven active former US Open men’s singles champions are participating this year.
There was an abundance of star power on tap for 2018 after the 2017 US Open went on without five of the ATP’s Top 11 men.
Although Rafael Nadal, the defending champion and world No. 1 has played only one hard-court event this summer, he made the most of it by winning his record-extending 33rd Masters 1000 title at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

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The Spaniard heartthrob has collected five ATP titles in 2018, bringing his career total to 80, and now has an opportunity to complete a French Open-US Open double for the second consecutive year.
After winning five consecutive US Open titles from 2004-08, Roger Federer has not been able to reclaim the New York crown despite two final appearances and three semifinal runs.
Federer has only played one summer hard-court event like Nadal, reaching the final at the Cincinnati Masters. The two-time Swiss defending Australian Open champ has perfected the art of peaking at the right times at 37.
The in-form player of the summer, Novak Djokovic enters New York on the back of titles at both Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Masters.
His Cincinnati title completed a Career Golden Masters for the Serb, as he became the first man in history to win all nine Masters events.
Djokovic has a record of 19-2 in his past four tournaments, including an 8-1 record across two Masters events in the US Open Series, dating back to Queen’s Club in late June.
Matches are getting intense and hot as the weather as the Open progresses until September 9.