Irresponsibility (Various)

E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

Irresponsibility
Sunday, 05 18, 2003

There is no senator coddling any drug trafficker. This is the only conclusion one can make of the irresponsible and obviously politically-motivated disclosure of Executive Director Anselmo Avenido of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that “certain lawmakers, including a senator, are under surveillance on suspicion they are coddling drug traffickers.” Every time such a canard is foisted, during this political season, the motive of the one making the disclosure is suspect. Why should such a public announcement be made, when it only defeats the purpose of placing those alleged coddlers under surveillance? That reference is made to “a senator,” obviously it meant to disparage Sen. Ping Lacson who has been, in the past, the subject of similar unfounded allegations. No matter how much his political opponents try to link him to drug trafficking, Lacson has always come out clean. His campaign against drugs during his term as director general of the Philippine National Police has even merited international recognition. Now comes this irresponsible and unintelligent statement from Avenido, which is obviously a political hatchet job. Another Senate investigation need not be conducted.

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Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta is right in demanding an audit of the P1-billion fund set aside by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to combat drug trafficking. Despite the availability of funds to combat it, drug trafficking continues to be a scourge that would not go away. Oreta relates the irresponsible use of the fund to her advocacies on education and health, which continue to reap dividends for our youth. The fund, according to Oreta, should be used to prosecute drug dealers and to keep the youth away from drugs. Avenido has his work cut out for him on this one.

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The continuing failure of the Armed Forces to prevent the bomb attacks in Koronadal City and elsewhere in Mindanao shows how inept and irresponsible the intelligence community is. Not one bomber has been identified or even charged. An explanation of how the billions in intelligence funds provided by Congress were utilized must be made.

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The employees of the Philippine Tourism Authority are begging the Court of Appeals to decide once and for all as to who between Nixon Kua and Robert Dean Barbers should sit as PTA general manager. Five months is a long, long time for the petition for quo warranto filed by kua to be decided. The PTA employees are confused, and their efforts at promoting tourism and implementation of the PTA’s infrastructure projects are being stymied by this intramural. It is about time the 11th Division of the CA decides, in order for the PTA to “restart the engine for tourism development.”

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The PNP Text 2920 launched early this year to invite the public to report via text messaging crime incidents and provide a quick response to such cases, appears to be another impact project that made so much noise and made so many hopeful of good results at its inception but ends up eventually a failure. Complaints have been aired about the lack of PNP response to reported crimes.

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Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo is going after the big fish. For a start, he has filed malversation and nine graft charges against former Surigao del Sur Rep. Constantino Navarro for allegedly misusing his pork barrel. Navarro allegedly netted more than 4.3 million on overpricing alone in the acquisition of medicines, drug-testing kits, notebooks, education materials and rice paddy plows. It will be a nice sequel to this to have Marcelo look into the acquisition by the Department of Agriculture of fishing vessels and patrol boats. Something stinks there like rotten fish from Iloilo.

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Raffy Baylosis informed us that Justice Undersecretary Jose Calida, who heads the task force formed to investigate the mauling of human rights activists in Oriental Mindoro last April 21, has received witnesses’ testimonies tagging M/Sgt. Donald Caigas, head of the intelligence unit of the 204th Infantry Brigade, as responsible for the death of Eden Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy. Caigas, unfortunately, is on AWOL status, after his escape soon after the mauling. Calida rues the failure of Col. Juanito Gomez, head of the 204th Infantry Brigade, to turn over Caigas to the task force. Gomez is now facing charges of obstruction of justice. Murder charges will be filed against Caigas. Justice, thankfully, is grinding fast on this one under Calida.

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Dean Armando J. Malay, whom UP students during martial law love and respected very dearly, will write, or march, no more. He who influenced us to be critical, and to whom we trusted our lives in a period of living dangerously, will be missed. Brought to him for a possible spanking after our occasional infantile intramurals at the UP Sunken Garden, Dean Malay yelled instead: “Raval, I want to see you at the Welcome Rotonda!” Farewell, my Dean.


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