Boxing commissioner not DENR Secretary
When former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza was appointed as DENR Secretary I withheld comment believing that everyone should be given a chance to at least show why we should support them in public office.
Unfortunately Lito Atienza has failed to communicate his vision, his leadership and his qualifications. This is not to say the guy is a flunky, I’m just saying that unlike his suave and media savvy style as Mayor of Manila, Atienza remains a transient presence as DENR Secretary.
What do Atienza and the Arroyo administration stand for in terms of managing our environment and natural resources? Are they simply going to wait in line for whatever dole out or revenue can be collected from mining companies? I use to accuse those companies as guilty of raping and ravaging communities, but in hindsight I now realize that the real criminals are people in government who act like pimps for the rapists!
Perhaps the activists should look into naming government officials as respondents for every homicide or cold blooded murder case that arises from mining related crime.
What real achievable goals has Lito Atienza lined up concerning our urban and national pollution situation? It would be a historical event if he actually succeeds to clear the length of EDSA from smoke belching vehicles. I would nominate him as a national hero if he can shut down the smoke belchers in Metro Manila, the SLEX and the NLEX.
Will Atienza attempt to break up the biggest bureaucracy in order to make it more responsive to resource management? What is the real reason why government and their legislators refuse to follow the
Is Lito Atienza up to the job of investigating and cleaning up the unpublicized corruption that goes on in terms of red tape connected to pollution, environmental impact studies and approvals, and why so many violations on the capture, transport or sale of endangered flora and fauna?
Week after week I have read and heard of issues that fall under the concern of the DENR and Lito Atienza. Everyday we are exposed to harmful pollutants in the water and in the air. All this is alarming but what gets my goat is to hear that our DENR Secretary was in far away Mandalay Bay Resort watching his buddy Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. To make matters worse the DENR office has now been transformed as the venue for latest press conference for our boxing great.
I just realized that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo may have been given the wrong name when she signed the appointment papers for the new DENR Secretary. Is it possible that the Atienza that was recommended for the post was actually the well known animal lover and weather reporter Kim Atienza? And not his boxing fanatic father Lito Atienza who actually would be a great Boxing Commissioner!
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Before our daughter got into grade one, my wife Karen who is the voracious reader in the family, made it a point to read and study the different books that would be used for the school year. It wasn’t long before she began to discover serious factual and grammatical errors in one book that was authored by a writer from a much heralded exclusive university.
As the school year began, other parents raised concerns about the same errors that my wife had edited and corrected for our daughter. Because of the extensive errors, the PTA which included well known writers, editors, as well as multi language speaking parents decided to work together on a new and better book.
When I shared this development at a party, a suggestion was made that I investigate a long known scam in the education sector. The practice it seems is that when a book is used in a school, the book must be used for a period of 3 years before any changes or a new book is introduced.
Under such a setup, a crooked supplier can write a book, get approval, print thousands of copies full of defects, deliver and promise to print out correction inserts that will never be delivered and have enough time to make another book that will repeat the vicious cycle. Unfortunately you can never get a refund or a penalty payment for the glaring error.
If private schools can’t even get resolution to this problem because going to court will just tie them up in more hassle, imagine how it is nearly impossible for the DepEd and regional schools to deal with crooked and criminal suppliers.
The biggest losers however are our children, their teachers as well as dedicated writers and authors whose works are butchered by greedy printers and disreputable publication houses. Given the widespread practice or lack of accountability and penalty system, this is one area that the so called educators in Congress and the Senate should address. Perhaps folks like Senators Cayetano etc could investigate this even more important concern for the future of all Filipinos.
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Health Secretary Duque may have missed his step due to the recent Supreme Court decision siding with milk companies on their right to advertise their products. But rather than see it as “spilled milk”, Duque should press on with his commitment to ensure the healthy future of Filipinos.
He has been on the right track regarding various issues including his anti tobacco or anti smoking agenda. He has finally got the feel for media relations and now does a good job of informing the public about important health issues. Perhaps what he needs to develop is to work on alliances or working compromise.
For instance he could strengthen and add more allies in his campaign for unsubstantiated claims in advertising like advertising agencies and associations, as well as consumer groups. Even for Cabinet members such confidence building is necessary in advocacy matters.
On the other hand, Duque should never let conflicts of opinion or perspectives prevent him from keeping an open door that could lead to a working compromise. We all know what we want but that doesn’t normally mean we all get what we want. Sometimes we take what we can get and if we can really smile and shake hands after, that means we did well.
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