Regaining public confidence

The testimony of Mary "Rosebud" Ong implicating so many police officers in the illicit drug trade should not make the police leadership rant and rave and spew fire against their once-upon-a-time undercover agent. Instead, it should prod them to take immediate steps to redeem their soiled image and regain the confidence of the public.

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What the Philippine National Police top brass should realize is that the people’s perception of the police is very bad. Just look at the instant surveys being undertaken by television and radio networks. Nine out of ten respondents believe that policemen are involved in drug trafficking and in the drug business. If similar surveys are undertaken on matters like kidnapping, bank robberies, smuggling and other heinous crimes, chances are that the results will be very damaging to the police force.

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The people expect the PNP leadership not to fulminate the throw venom at Rosebud, but to wage immediately an effective, honest-to-goodness campaign against crime. But then, this must first require a cleansing of the police ranks. And the implementors of the anti-crime campaign must be cops of proven integrity and courage. Just watch the popularity rating of the PNP shoot up – if and when a genuine ant-crime effort is demonstrated by the police force.

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While allowing Filipinos living or working abroad to vote in our elections is ideal because it is going to widen the base of our democratic institution, there are problems that have to be coped with. Commenting on the issue of absentee voting, an initiative that is gradually gaining ground in Congress, former Ambassador Rodolfo A. Arizala underscored the problem areas.

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On the legal aspect, Arizala said that Congress will first have to define who are those "qualified Filipinos" for absentee voting. Shall it include Filipinos with dual citizenship? Should we waive the "residence in the Philippines" requirement? And should they be allowed to vote in national elections only or in both local and national elections?

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Administratively, Arizala, who served as envoy for many years in foreign posts, said that voting stations outside the Philippine consumer and diplomatic establishments might have to be leased. Also, personnel will have to be trained on their Comelec functions. This could be a big burden, considering that many embassy personnel are already performing other duties like collecting taxes and taking care of our overseas workers. And during the campaign period, the permission of foreign government will have to be obtained, to allow candidates to campaign or hold rallies, or post campaign paraphernalia.

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All of these things, according to Arizala, will require additional personnel, infrastructure and budgetary outlays. At this point in time, do we have the resources to seriously consider allowing absentee voting? Or are there more urgent national concerns that will have to be tackled before the popular cry for absentee voting will be listened to?

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About five years ago, a young man (whose identity will be withheld for the sake of the privacy of the family he left behind), met an untimely death. Since that time, the Good Samaritan Foundation has been providing some financial support to his family – a mother and four children in school – mainly because of the help extended by the young man to the Foundation during its early years.

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Recently, the mother was forced to hie off to the United States to find work there, so that she could support her four children through school. The children, all of them still without jobs, are now living by their lonesome in Antipolo City.

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Before she left for the US, the mother appealed to me to extend help to her children, for at least two months, while she scouts for a job. "I’ll take two jobs at the same time, and I’m hopeful I’ll be able to take care of the kids," she said in her hurriedly-scribbled note to me. In response, the Good Samaritan Foundation turned over P18,000 to one of the children, to take care of their estimated monthly expense this September.

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Here is an inspiring and moving story which conveys the message that kindness pays:

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so he brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"You don’t owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness."

He said, "then I thank you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly is called for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately, he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor’s gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room.

She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words: "Paid in full with one glass of milk. (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly."

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed. "Thank you, God, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands."

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Did you know…

* The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as substitute for blood plasma.

* A Boeing 747’s wingspan is no longer than the Wright brother’s first flight.

* American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

* Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

* The first owner of Marlboro company died of lung cancer.

* Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than al of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

* Marilyn Monroe had six toes.

* Pearls melt in vinegar.

* The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.

* It is possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not downstairs.

* A duck’s quack doesn’t echo and no one knows why.

* Richard Milhouse Nixon was the first US president whose name contains all the letters from the word "criminal." The second? William Jefferson Clinton.

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Thoughts for Today:

God does not always tell us
how He is working out His plan.
But in His time and in His way,
He clearly lets us know
He is working out His best for us.

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God is working in more ways
than you have asked Him.
He is doing more things for you
than your faith can imagine.
He has made everything
beautiful in His time.

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My e-mail address: [email protected]