Comelec now flagship of depraved agencies

The Comelec seems out to prove itself the shadiest state agency. For no lucid reason than to please their appointer Gloria Arroyo, four of seven commissioners declared her son Mikey eligible as sectoral rep of neglected security guards and tricycle drivers. They will make Mikey sit in Congress despite the plain fact that he’s sneaking through the back door, his power-hungry mom having taken over his old congressional district. They deem him needy like the sector he pretends to embody, despite his untold wealth, including manors in California. They overlook his and the party Ang Galing Pinoy’s inability to prove his membership within deadline, as attested by the Comelec legal division, and let him fabricate credentials. So the four — Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Armando Velasco and Elias Yusoph — must answer what citizens pointedly are asking on multimedia, “For how much?”

Two commissioners decently dissented: take a bow, Rene Sarmiento and Gregorio Larrazabal, for trying to keep the Comelec neutral, though in vain. Sadly, Chairman Jose Melo shirked from morally influencing the four sycophants and took no part in the voting. Although once a Supreme Court justice tasked to defend the Constitution, he let them trample upon three sections of the fundamental law: those on party-list representation for marginalized citizens, on the independence of constitutional commissions, and on prohibiting political dynasties. There will now be four Arroyos in Congress: Gloria and other son Dato, who both electioneered with hundreds of millions of pesos in Pagcor money; brother-in-law Ignacio Arroyo; and now Mikey the phony indigent. Definitely one for the Guinness Records.

This Comelec has yet to explain patently crooked deals. There’s the computerization of the voters’ registry for P1.6 billion, by a firm that had bid P400 million higher than the other contender. Upon award of the “rush project,” the Comelec retracted that fingerprinting 50 million voters would take three years and not three months, further enriching the overpricing supplier with initial drawdowns. There’s the P700 million for one-time-use ballot secrecy folders, that was scuttled only because of timely exposure. In all, the poll body contracted P4 billion in incidentals for last May’s automated election. Three-fifths of it went to nine favored suppliers, mostly through rigged bids. So again the question begs answering, “For how much?”

And now, this obsequious ruling that sneaky Mikey is a sectoral rep. There’s a saying to describe their ways, best stated in the original Tagalog: “Mabuti pa ang linta, kapag nabusog, bumibitaw na. Pero sila walang pagkabusog.”

* * *

Reader Melvin Sancho reacts to last Wednesday’s item on Senators Arroyo, Angara and Santiago’s “defense” of the Senate’s “independence”: “If Congress should be free from Malacañang meddling, how come they didn’t raise a peep in 2008 when President Gloria Arroyo paid off legislators to not impeach her. Remember that Reps. Crispin Beltran exposed a P2-million bribe offer, Benny Abante confirmed receiving P500,000, and Amelita Villarosa owned up to releasing the money.”

Henrik Nyqvist revisits PAGASA’s fiasco over Typhoon Basyang: “I live in Merville Park, south of the NAIA. On the night of July 13th the wind suddenly gusted from the north, 345° to be precise. Around 9 o’clock there were random blinking of house lights, a sign that gale was swinging power lines to hit one another. By midnight we lost power for 14 hours, and telephone for 24 hours.

“At 10 p.m. I clicked onto website www.typhoon2000.ph, which I have followed for years. It had three storm tracks, all of which pointed to a direct hit on northern Metro Manila. One of these was PAGASA’s forecast, which noted the storm’s southerly shift. The other observatories had no such comment.

“The eye of the storm actually passed somewhere south of Manila, between Sucat and San Pedro, between 3 and 4 a.m. PAGASA was correct. Metro Manila was directly hit.

“The glitch was in issuing the storm warning. Only at 11 p.m., an hour before the storm hit Manila, did PAGASA upgrade the warning from 1 to 2, out of 5. What were they thinking? They plotted the storm to hit the city directly with 120-125 kph gusts, but apparently believed the others’ forecasts that it would pass north of Manila. Who were on duty at PAGASA that night?”

* * *

The ground-breaking Kiss the Cook concerts resume Sunday, July 25, with soprano Camille Lopez Molina, two-time NAMCYA first-prize winning flutist Christopher Oracion, and pianist Mary Anne Espina. The musical series first splashed July 4 with the acclaimed recital of two-time NAMCYA winner Oliver Salonga. Kiss the Cook Gourmet is located at 65 Maginhawa St., UP Village, Diliman, Quezon City. Only 37 seats available for the concert at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7. For inquiries, call (02) 7484152, (02) 3573811, or (0906) 5104270.

* * *

Floyd Mayweather Sr. calls Manny Pacquiao a Filipino midget. Ha-ha-ha. If the seven world boxing titlist is a dwarf at 5’6-1/2”, then Mayweather had better steer clear of regular built Pinoys.

This reminds us of the story, probably apocryphal, of diminutive Carlos P. Romulo being introduced to a tall American lady. “Are all Filipino generals that small?” the woman inquired. To which Romulo the wit replied double-edged, “You should see our privates.”

* * *

 “Only those can truly discern who feel some concern.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]