Ping's challenge

It says here that the Phl population may reach 101.4 million this year. The more the merrier? Yes, as the saying goes. But the Department of Health and the Commission of Population  are apparently not quite that merry.

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The two government agencies plan to introduce a new artificial method of family planning to rein in the galloping Phl population. So says this newspaper report here.

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A town mayor was quoted as complaining about the behavior of his constituents. "No matter how hard I work to please them," he said, "they're not satisfied." One US political observer has this advice for public officials with hard-to-please constituents: "Never retract, never explain, never apologize--just get the thing done and let them howl."

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Former Sen. Ping Lacson has challenged the PNP to clean up and shape up amidst the many criticisms it has been getting these days. Lacson must know where the defects lie, having been there and did well there, during his stint as chief.

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Writes Ma'am Marietta (second name withheld upon request): "If crime suspects were not given the benefit of the doubt and punished right away, there might be a chance for attaining a decent and peaceful society."

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She said: "We are a very forgiving people...Even those who have admitted their crime are forgiven...That's why our jails are overcrowded." Ma'am Marietta is a member of a socialist group.

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Mayor Mike Rama is not giving up hope that Pope Francis will visit Cebu even for a very brief moment on his way to Tacloban and Palo. Hope springs eternal and only God decides where to bring the Holy Father.

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Should there be a sudden change in the Holy Father's Visayas sked with Cebu in his itinerary, how prepared are we for his visit no matter how brief and fleeting? The question was asked by a Cebuano mediaman in Manila. To which another Cebuano newsman in Cebu replied: "Minusan ra ka sa atong kaabtik, bay?"