PNoy still living the ill-fated EDSA dream

Cebu has always been known for being one of the most peaceful areas in the country, which is why we have a robust tourism industry. However in the past two months, Cebuanos experienced something unheard of, “drive by shootings,” which has now victimized many innocent lives that suddenly, one can already conclude that Cebu is no longer the peaceful place that we used to know. I gathered that the police recently arrested suspects for this crazy crime and we can only hope that we have seen the end of this criminality.

Meanwhile, in recognition of our security problems, we have on our talkshow on Straight from the Sky a special presentation on our security concerns. With us are two security specialists, Mr. Jason Jamisola who once worked in the Australian Special Forces and his partner Mr. Jensen Go Chow. They will give our viewers a bird’s eye view of all our security concerns from within the safety of our own homes or in our businesses. Watch this very interesting show on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00pm with replays on My TV channel 28 at 9:00pm.

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“This revolution is not yet over,” were the stirring words of Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino, III during the 26th anniversary of the EDSA People’s Power Revolution, after which he rattled off his achievements in his regime. He spoke before an estimated crowd of 5,000, a far cry from the EDSA anniversaries of the past. PNoy talks about reform and “pagpabago,” but in truth, he has ushered nothing new especially here in Cebu where he also won during the May 2010 elections.

Imperial Manila is getting the bulk of infrastructure development, while the rest of the country suffers from this investment imbalance. As I’m writing this column, I was watching the President speaking in Tagalog over GMA News TV. Another post Martial Law mentality of the Aquinos is their insistence that Filipinos should be Tagalog speakers. Something that the EDSA Revolt did not change.

At the end of Pres. Aquino’s speech, he said, “Now is our time to move.” If you ask me, PNoy did not say anything new that wasn’t said by his mother Tita Cory who was followed by Pres. Fidel V. Ramos, Pres. Erap and Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Twenty-six years after EDSA, the nation has gone down so far, we have been overtaken by Vietnam and we are now at par with Cambodia. After his speech, PNoy unveiled a statue of Jaime Cardinal Sin. If you ask me, the Aquinos are still living in the dream of EDSA, while the rest of the Philippines wallow in abject poverty.

It is time to accept the reality that my good friend, Fr. Romeo “Archie” Intengan told me during my TV interview with him - that “EDSA was not really a revolution, but a regime change.” Indeed, we have become a banana republic, changing leaders with the same rotten system of governance with every new leader promising change, but in reality, they are telling the people that “It is their time,” meaning their time to taste power and the hell with the rest of the people.

Meanwhile, Pres. Aquino’s fight against corruption is experiencing another set back, this time he can no longer pin the blame on this from the previous Arroyo administration, rather it is coming from a most unlikely source… the United States, where a corporate rift between the co-owners of the Wynn Resorts, Ltd Mr. Steve Wynn and Mr. Kazuo Okada made the headline news in many US newspapers. This was a public squabble that had implications in the Philippines.

In a Wynn Board meeting, Mr. Wynn accused his pal, Mr. Okada of making improper payments to gambling regulators in the Philippines. Of course that news report got an instant denial from no less than Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Cristino Naguiat, Jr. who said that his name was being dragged into this boardroom rift between the two gaming magnates.

So what’s really going on here? We can only suspect that since almost all government agencies are corrupt-ridden, why should Pagcor be exempted from this cancer? Like it or not, the economic growth that created Las Vegas was done mostly by the mob or mafia… and you’re telling us that Pagcor officials are spotlessly clean? Come on, tell that to the Marines! Meanwhile, the Palace Rasputin’s instantly came into the rescue of the President’s classmate (kaklase), thus cleansing him even without any investigation.

Sensing that the Filipino people are incensed about this move, PNoy suddenly announced that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa would conduct an investigation on this. Come now, how can we expect a rabid yellow disciple of PNoy to come with an unbiased report?

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