Shakedowns

The Supreme Court has invalidated the four controversial National Artist awards. If the four are embarrassed, as many believe they are, they know who to blame.

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The banner headline of the Philippine STAR last Friday said: “DOTC Execs Tagged in $30-M Shakedown.” There will be denials but how about, the old saying goes: “When there is smoke there is fire.”

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Lots of news about shakedowns in recent days. Let there be shakeups too. Even if only to straighten somehow the daang matuwid that has become somewhat crooked.

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Some of our lawmakers may not have impeccable breeding but they're not as ill-behaved as one Italian senator I read about in the papers who had the nerve to compare a minister or his government to an orangutan.

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The senator said everytime he looked at the first black minister of Italy he seemed to be looking at an orangutan. The remark went viral in the social media resulting in worldwide condemnation of the Italian senator.

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I just read in Marichu Villanueva's Phil STAR column that there are still Mona Lisa hospitals in Manila. These hospitals are so-called because like Mona Lisa's lovers, these hospitals' patients “just lie there and they die there.”

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Of the many firms and individuals who congratulated The Freeman on its 94th year, I noticed only one that was different from the rest of the greeting ads. I refer to the Benedicto College's ad which was specially designed. It appeared on page 12, July 18 issue. Beautiful.

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The DOLE says Pinoy's can still apply for jobs in Taiwan. Noy Temiong comments: “If they're willing and ready to be bullied.”

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The SWS survey says that more Filipinos are satisfied with the way democracy here works. If you've been through the Marcos years when democracy was virtually dead, you can't ask for more.

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OVERHEARD. Three men in a beerhouse were taking turns in reading the newspaper. One said: “Naunsa naman ang Daang Matuwid ni PNoy?” Reply: “Naglibaungon na. Pre.” Another reply: “Unsa toy Tinagalog sa Dalang Baliko, Pre?”