Can a blind man have a driver's license?

Erap is running for President. And they say he's a sure winner. If so, God bless us all.

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Erap running for President? If he wins, he should finish the term. His mother once expressed dismay, according to stories making the rounds, that Erap was not able to finish his schooling, that he failed to finish his term as President, and again failed to finish his prison term.

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A woman named Ruth is known as "Crime Personified" in Africa (it doesn't say here which part of the continent). "She has committed all the crimes in the book," according to a TV news report. So ... can we call her the Ruth of all evils?

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A blind masseur ("masahista") from Labangon told me this story. He went to a government office -- accompanied of course by a non-blind guide -- to apply for a disabled person's assistance. The blind man said he was asked to present an ID. His only ID was from the blind association of which he was a member. It was not accepted. "Wa gyuy lain diha?" the government personnel said. "Bisan driver's license lang."

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The blind man said: "Buta man ko pero nakakita ko sa iyang utok nga gamay pa sa utok sa bolinaw." He then laughed and added: "Duna ba guy buta nga kaisyuhan og driver's license?"

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It says here that there is a shortage of priests in RP. I know of many young men -- OK, boys -- who want to become priests. But their parents, though supportive, simply can't afford the cost. One young man I know said: "Gusto ta ko magpari, Sir, pero mahal kaayo ... So nag-masscom nalang ko, Sir. Barato pa, makaasawa pa ko."

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When I was young, my mother toyed with the idea of sending me to the seminary, hoping I would end up being a priest. My parents then could afford to give me a shot at the priesthood. But my father said he could not afford: "I could not afford ... to see you without a girlfriend." So here I am now, 50 years in the press-hood. Sad that where I am, they don't make cardinals out of old newsmen.

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After the crash of the presidential helicopter killing seven people, most of them Palace personnel, Press Sec. Cerge Remonde said, the President will now be taking precautions but she will not stop working hard like what she has always been doing. Which is the most sensible and patriotic thing to do. She owes it the 90 million or so Filipinos to take good care of herself while she still holds the reins of the Presidency.

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Can you imagine what will happen to this country if -- God forbid - something terribly bad would happen to the President now? The buayas and hyenas -- and, yes, the crabs, too -- will be fighting each other for power and tear this country apart. I have a friend, a sensible oppositionist, who prays for the President's safety. "Nahibawo ko mangamote kitang tanan kon dunay mahitabo sa Presidente ning tungora," said this right-thinking cause-oriented militant. That's patriotism.

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