GMA's legacy: Removal of ANCAR permits!

I was invited to a press briefing onboard the SuperCat with Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) yesterday, but I had to beg off as I was meeting my old buddy Mr. Ton Ton Rizarri from Houston Texas. As you know your best friends are those who were with you when you were still kids! Now that we’ve grown up, we’re even closer than our own siblings!

Anyway, I gathered that the President was the principal awardee in Cebu City’s 73rd Charter Day celebrations where she was awarded the “Order of Rajah Humabon” the highest award given to those who have done a lot for Cebu City. Unfortunately, I wasn’t invited to this occasion, proof that a lot of things have changed in City Hall.

Indeed, Cebu had a lot of infrastructure projects under the administration of Pres. Arroyo. The latest project she unveiled was the Cansaga Bay Bridge spanning across Mandaue City to Consolacion. Then she went to the Cabancalan-Canduman Bridge to unveil the marker for that project.

But the single most unforgettable achievement she did for Cebu was the removal of that offensive Anti-Carnapping (ANCAR) permit. We can now freely cross from island to island without being suspected of driving a stolen car! This became her backbone project called the Strong Republic Nautical Highway. Now that’s a lasting GMA legacy!

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With that Supreme Court decision that cabinet officials running for elective positions is deemed resigned undoubtedly levels the playing field. Delicadeza dictates that these affected Cabinet officials, like Executive Sec. Ermita, Sec. Rolando Andaya, Sec. Agnes Devanadera and Sec. Arthur Yap shouldn’t wait for the result of their motion to appeal and already quit their posts. This is why I have only high regard for candidates like former Defense Sec. Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. who had the delicadeza to resign from the Department of National Defense (DND) when he filed his certificate of candidacy to run for President.

Delicadeza is something that is woefully missing with our public servants today, whether they are appointed or elected. Here we are seeking new leaders for our politically sick country and yet, the politicians seeking our votes do not have any delicadeza at all! We should have a checklist on who are the candidates we should choose in the coming May elections, especially from the list of Presidentiables and Senatoriables. Your choice can make or break this country!

Change means structural change in the kind of governance we have. A case in point is the too highly-centralized system plaguing the Office of the Ombudsman, which is my book, is the key to the eradication of corruption in this country. If this power is decentralized through a Federal system of governance, I’ll say it here without any fear or favor that corruption will cease to exist in this country. If your mayor knows that if he engages in a corrupt deal he’ll be thrown to prison within six months of court proceedings, no other public official would dare engage in corrupt acts again.

Unfortunately, the only way we can decentralize the Office of the Ombudsman is to change our basic law. That means charter changes, something that people like Presidentiable Sen. Noynoy Aquino vowed never to do because this present constitution is named after his mother. Sen. Manny Villar also clearly stated that there is no need to change the constitution because the present one gives vast powers to the Office of the President. Only Presidentiable Gibo Teodoro has made charter changes his election promise and this is why he brings so much hope for our youth voters.

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Now that the election campaign for the Presidency is well underway, news that certain Presidential candidates have tried to “bribe” former Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada to quit his campaign in favor of that “buying” Presidentiable. This story was of course confirmed by no less than Erap himself, but he remained mum as to who tried to bribe him to quit. Naturally the man on the spot is no less than Sen. Manny Villar who is acknowledged to be the money leader. If he buys out Erap, there is no question he will become unbeatable and Malacañang will be an easy reach!

The smoke coming from the coffeehouses are swirling with rumors as to how much was the bribe money. Some say it’s a P500 million, plus the expenses that the candidate already spent. This brings us to the other rumors being peddled around that the trailing candidates like Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Sen. Richard Gordon or Sen. Jamby Madrigal are merely in this race for the “funds “ of it! I would like to believe that this isn’t true.