Polish-ing our air force

One of the worst midnight deals signed by the former Department of National Defense head, Norberto Gonzalez, was the procurement of Polish helicopters for our Air Force. It seems the Philippine Air Force will be polished up by buying Polish-made PZL Swidnik Sokol helicopters the kind that even the Polish government itself won’t buy. Spy Bits was informed that in the last 30 years, only two countries Myanmar and the former Czechoslovakia have bought these so called Sokols (and even then under compelling circumstances). Late last month, the Polish Ministry of National Defence announced the intention to buy 26 new choppers for a “unified helicopter platform” for its navy, army and Special Forces by the end of the year. But guess what none of these helicopters will be the Sokol, as the platforms chosen will most likely be the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk or S-92. As a matter of fact, even the Polish Ministry of Health did not think enough of PZL Swidnik, opting instead to purchase 23 choppers from the French manufacturer Eurocopter for its emergency medical services fleet.

Last year, Italian aircraft manufacturer Augusta Westland bought out PZL Swidnik and has since fired more than 500 personnel an indication that the new owners are not inclined to continue manufacturing Sokols (competitors of Augusta’s A139 and A159 models) or any other PZL helicopter for that matter. And when that happens the Philippine Air Force will be left “holding the bag” since there will be no parts for replacement, repairs, maintenance and other after-sales support requirements. What a set up!

Lest we forget

The Chinese will never forget the hostage-taking tragedy at the Quirino Grandstand that stirred grief, indignation, anger and all other kinds of emotions. But let’s not also forget the tragic fate that befell a Filipino family that was touring Beijing in 2005. Filipino executive Emmanuel Madrigal and his family were descending from a tourist bus right in the heart of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to visit the Mao Zedong Mausoleum when he was suddenly attacked by a knife-wielding Chinese farmer, killing him on the spot. Madrigal’s daughter Regina Mia was killed, while his wife Vivian later succumbed to injuries in a Beijing hospital. The Chinese killer was later executed but during the incident, no Chinese official formally apologized to the Philippine government, nor did we demand an apology or explanation either. No hate mails were sent by Filipinos and neither were flags raised in half-mast to mourn for the Filipino victims. Lest we forget, such tragedies as the recent hostage-taking incident can happen anywhere.

Drying Drysdale

Retrenched employees of Marsman Drysdale Foods Corp., a subsidiary of the Marsman Drysdale group, have been complaining about not receiving their separation benefits after the company shut down its operations almost two years ago. Apparently, the company promised to pay the employees on a staggered basis something that had remained unfulfilled to this day. Employees say they have written to company chairman George Drysdale Jr. but to no avail. Maybe they’re not aware that George Jr. is going through a very bitter and expensive divorce case with the ex-wife promising to squeeze Drysdale till the well runs dry.

Frankly speaking

Feisty lawyer Frank Chavez and the Ayala Alabang Village Association (AAVA) have come to a settlement with a Memorandum of Agreement in which AAVA returned the former solicitor general’s construction bond in full. Both parties also entered into a (renewable) sublease agreement over the questioned easement with Chavez agreeing to pay the royal sum of P1 per year until 2025 (for the earlier disputed 228 square-meter easement at the back of Chavez’s property). Since the warring parties have dropped their lawsuits against each other, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial court assigned to hear the estafa case filed by Chavez against AAVA officials has dismissed the suit, with the judge ruling almost completely in favor of Chavez. It pays to be Frank!

Nothing “major major”

“Major major” has now become a famous line with reference to Miss Universe 4th Runner-up Venus Raj’s answer to a judge’s question during the finals. Some believe the beauty queen lost an opportunity to take the title with that ambiguous answer. But the fact is, she made it to the top five - something we’ve not seen for some time now. Former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz gave her unsolicited advice to future Filipina contestants to employ language interpreters in international beauty competitions especially at the crucial question and answer portion. Cebuanos however took Gloria’s comment to task, in particular the speaking English portion. Cebu has the highest number of Filipinos who can speak fluent English. Knowing Gloria however, she most likely meant that contestants would be more comfortable answering in their own dialects no matter how fluent they may be in English. Nothing major really! The Philippines has approximately 170 dialects with each one having its own unique nuance and distinct meaning. After all, not everybody can be like Mike Toledo who can speak seven languages - all at the same time!

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