Issues close to home

Had there been no American tragedy last September 11, the focus of attention in our own country would have remained on the charges of high crimes lodged against Senator Panfilo Lacson, the money laundering bill in Congress, the country’s quest for economic resurrection, the war against the Abu Sayyaf, the need to modernize our electoral system, etc. But the terrorist attack in New York and Washington took the nation’s attention away from these local issues. Instead, the Filipino people turned and stayed glue to CNN’s splendid coverage of the American tragedy.

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With the reopening of Congress tomorrow, there is hope our attention will return once more to the issues that are close to our own hearts. For instance, the urgency to tackle our country’s electoral problems and re-engineer the Commission on Elections is of highest priority. In his recent speech before the Manila Overseas Press Club, Comelec chairman Alfredo L. Benipayo divulged what ails the poll body and the electoral system.

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Under existing laws, the Comelec should have modernized its operations in time for the 2001 elections. A national central file of voters’ registration records, a voter’s identification card system, and automated vote-counting were the mandates of the laws. However, these were not done because one commissioner, with some accomplices, opted to take a different, mindless route. This commissioner is none other than Luzviminda Tancangco.

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According to Benipayo, Tancangco and her allies decided instead, in violation of the law, to do other things. They implemented a so-called "precinct mapping project" that was not authorized or funded by existing laws. Instead of purchasing computers and automated counting machines, they hired thousands upon thousands of casual workers who were tasked to go to every single household, to verify each and every voter registration record. What a waste of time and money!

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Reliable sources say that the precinct mapping project was marked with fiscal mismanagement, with P139.62 million of cash advances still unliquidated. There also remain some P59.41 million that have not been cleared by the finance authorities concerned. And it was Tancangco who was given the signing authority for all the expenditures of the projects.

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Former Comelec Chairman Harriet Demetriou has agreed to testify on what are considered anomalous features of the precinct mapping project. Her appearance in a scheduled Senate hearing on issues affecting the Comelec is expected to open and unearth many cans of worms that could lead to the indictment of Comelec commissioners who opted to toy around with the people’s money.

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Benipayo wants to know who should be made to answer for the "criminal waste" of taxpayers’ money and for the "arrested development" of the Philippine electoral system. In this, he has the full support and backing of concerned Filipinos. And the people’s ultimate hope is that the axe will fall hard on those found guilty of thwarting and manipulating the electoral system.

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Let me thank the following donors to the Good Samaritan Foundation’s charitable projects:

* Dr. Conrad G. Javier, MD, of Cleveland, Ohio, USA, P10,000 (PNB 000694136)

* Anonymous lady donor from Pila, Laguna, P1,000 (Metrobank 0212123)

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Last Thursday, September 20, two kind-hearted ladies – Marie Lou Crisostomo and Tina Villaruz, overall coordinator and treasurer, respectively, of the Sta. Mesa Heights Ladies Club in Quezon City – dropped by my office to hand over their organization’s donation to the Good Samaritan Foundation. The funds came from the club’s ballroom dancing project, which is held every Friday, from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight, at the D. Tuason Elementary School’s Covered Court in Barangay Lourdes, Quezon City.

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The Sta. Mesa Heights Ladies Club, which celebrated its 4th anniversary last September 7, has been staging fund-raising projects, mainly through ballroom dancing, for the past four years. And the funds they raise are given to charitable causes designed to help the less fortunate in life. The ballroom dancing project is open to the general public. Those interested in joining the project for a cause may drop by at the D. Tuason Elementary School every Friday evening and have a good time.

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During their visit to my office, Ms. Crisostomo and Ms. Villaruz handed over donations to the Good Samaritan Foundation from the following donors:

* Boston Mega Transit owned and operated by Manoling Crisostomo and his son-in-law Bernard Tiongson, P2,500

* Mr. and Mrs. Eugenio R. Reyes, P2,000

* Sta. Mesa Heights Ladies Club, P2,000

* Atty. and Mrs. Emelita Villaruz, P2,000

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Thanks a million and God bless all the following officers and members of the Sta. Mesa Heights Ladies Club who have shown concern for their less fortunate fellowmen: Josie Sioson, president; Cecile Varela, vice president; Tina Villaruz, treasurer; Lina Querubin, assistant treasurer; Melinda Ruiz, secretary; Angel Go, assistant secretary; Marilou Crisostomo, coordinator; Nena Samurano, public relations officer; and Glori Kho, auditor.

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For your Sunday reading, here is an inspirational article passed on to me by New York-based Jerry A. Quibilan, associate member of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals:

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four-year-old child whose next-door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said: "Nothing. I just helped him cry."

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Thoughts for Today:

It’s good to have money
and the things money can buy.
But it’s also good to check
and make sure you haven’t lost
the things money can’t buy,
like a true friend.

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May your weeks begin
with a gentle ray of hope,
be filled with moments of love,
and end with a soft note of peace.

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My e-mail address: <[email protected]>.