Another oust Collector Mangaoang try?

When does ambition end and public service begin? One would have thought that the problems plaguing the feisty Customs Lady Collector Lourdes Mangaoang was over when finally the truth came out that the former contender to the post of Cebu Customs, Ms. Grace Karingal really didn't have any appointment to take on the post as Cebu Customs Collector. But just the same, Karingal went through the same exercise with the support of her shadowy but obviously well-connected patrons inside Malacañang, whose names we shall not mention here. Karingal even had the temerity to use a PR man to convince us that she was the right person for the job. But that didn't help here to enter the Cebu Customs at all.

Now there's a new name being peddled to replace Mangaoang with another lady, Purita Parojinog, who is a Customs Division Chief in Manila, who hails from Ozamis. This time, she has gotten the nod of the Cebu Provincial Board, which now has the rumur mills churning at full speed in our coffee shops that she is the sister-in-law of the former leader of Kuratong Baleleng Gang. If this is true, surely does this mean that the Kuratong Baleleng would now have a "friend" inside the Customs? We're not saying that this diminishes Parojinog's achievements in the Bureau of Customs, but what I really want to know is, who is really pushing her to be in Cebu?

If you ask me, Mangaoang is doing just fine but there is no question that her presence in Cebu has caused a lot of discomfort to a lot of smugglers with connections, which is why they are moving heaven and earth to remove her from the Cebu Customs. So far, the Cebu Business leaders have openly supported Mangaoang and at this point, they don't feel the need to replace her but why are some people hell-bent on getting rid of her? Once again, we'd to know who is backing Parojinog? I'm sure it must be a congressman or a senator aside from those interlopers in Malacañang. Abangan!

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Pundits have been crying out that the country's education is in crisis! Truth to tell, education in this country has been in crisis for the last 20 years! That our classrooms are overcrowded is something we already knew years ago and year after year, we only get all kinds of excuses from the government as to why our schools lack teachers, classrooms, books, chairs and all this is blamed on lack of money! But when Congress deliberates for their own pork barrels, suddenly we are awash with cash!

Surely Congress can predict the population growth of this country and act accordingly so that this perennial problem can finally be addressed? Because of the usual public outcry by an angry nation, Congress now has added P2.6 billion to the Education budget, as if any good can happen with that now that school has already opened.

If Congress truly cares for the education of our people they shouldn't give out supplemental budgets simply to cover what they perceive as a shortfall but take the bull by its horns and once and for all, solve the never-ending problem that the Department of Education (DepEd) faces every school opening! As we all know, Education is the great equalizer the poor people's ticket away from that vicious cycle of poverty and if many of our people are poor today, it is only because Congress refused to address this problem to give out the money needed to educate all of our children.

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I am four-square behind the move by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to provide M-16 Armalites to the barangay captains of the Mountain Barangays of Cebu City simply because the police or the military isn't there when something bad happens. Let's face it, the highest public official in those far-flung areas are the barangay captains; therefore, in order to promote peace and order in their locality, they too must be well-armed so that at least, the folks in those barangays can look to the barangay captain in case of any untoward incidents especially in those places where they don't even have a police outpost or a policeman for that matter.

Of course, Mayor Osmeña mustn't just hand them these high-powered weapons without the proper training for its use, because I also believe that a firearm can certainly become a liability if you give it to a person who doesn't know how to use it. Worse, it can even become a target of opportunity to one who might want to steal or grab this high-powered firearm and we know that the NPAs love to rob many police outposts. Sure, arming barangay captains with a high-powered weapon opens them to potential abuse. But if you ask me, this is a problem that we can solve later if and when it happens. It is for me a lesser evil.

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