Luring investors back to RP

Under normal times and conditions, heads of states of troubled countries shun traveling to different destinations in the world. They would rather stay home to mind the store, or to save on traveling expenses. Apparently, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not adhering to this traditional role.

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Here in the Philippines, times and conditions are abnormal. Our country is hardly moving forward, mainly because of the absence of paucity of investments. This is where the need and urgency of foreign travels for President GMA are of great significance.

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In her forays abroad, the main agenda of President GMA is not only to hobnob with other heads of states but, more importantly, to interact with potential foreign investors. And of course, her meetings with the top political figures in Japan, China, Singapore, Brunei, and soon with President Bush of the United States, can open wide the doors to special concessions or trade relations with those countries.

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President GMA should be commended for taking lavishness away from her foreign trips. When she leaves or departs for foreign lands, there are no brass bands, or thousands of school kids waving banners along the route, or extra-large delegations joining her. Simplicity and austerity seems to be mandated feature of her trips. And this is the way it should be, considering the paucity of financial recourses in the national treasury.

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Don’t think that among people with disabilities, there are no athletes. You have seen those athletically-inclined PWDs playing basketball on wheels, or blind people playing chess, or handicapped youngsters with only one leg participating in marathon swimming competitions. In the United States, there are even wheelchair-bound PWDs who engage in tennis matches.

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Recently, we sent a Philippine delegation of PWD athletes to compete in the 1st ASEAN PARA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We should be proud of them. Fighting under the banner of the Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled (PHILSPADA), a group organized by visually-impaired Mike Barredo, the handicapped Pinoy athletes had a total haul of 30 medals.

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The gold medalists were Arnold Balais in swimming; Christina Padtoc, relay; and Andres Lubin, javelin and pentathlon. Those who bagged silvers were Precy Salazar in relay and dash; Cristina Padtoc, relay; Joel Balatucan, dash; Andres Lubin, shotput; and Evaristo Carbonell, long jump. The bronze medalists were Arnold Balais, Precy Salazar, Ruth Maragrag, Cherlynn de la Cruz, Agustin Kitan, Jerico Openia, and Michael Alonzo.

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Here is a human interest item about Arnold Balais, who works at present with an artificial leg manufacturing company in Cebu City. When he was yet in his teenage years, he lost his right leg, above the knee, while he was playing basketball in Olongapo City. That did not daunt him from aspiring to become self-reliant.

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Eventually, he found a job as an assistant manufacturer of prosthesis at the UST Medical Rehabilitationi Center, under the tutelage of Dr. Ofelia Reyes, the noted medical rehab specialist. While working at UST, Balais took night school courses for a high school diploma at Greenhills La Salle. Then, Balais was sent for further training in prosthesis-production in Los Angeles, California.

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On the side, Balais is an athlete. He engages in weight-lifting, swimming and other athletic events. He has excelled in athletics that he was chosen to represent the Philippines in sport competitions for PWDs in places like Atlanta, USA; Malaysia and other places around the globe. To raise funds for PWD projects, Balais also recently initiated a one-man marathon swim, in the murky seas of Mactan and Cebu that generated a lot of public attention on what PWDs can do to show their savvy. If I have a lot of information about Balais, it is due to the fact that he used to manufacture or repair my pair of leg braces.

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Lawyer Lea T. Castelo, president of the Federation of Women Civic Organizatioins of Quezon City (FWCO), reacted to that "open manhole" plaint of TV journalist Gene Orejana. Probably, said lawyer Castelo, Public Works and Highways Secretary Simeon Datumanong was merely grandstanding or complacently taking his own sweet time when he announced, during the interview with Gene, that he (Datumanong) would have the open manhole immediately covered.

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But then, Lea Castelo added, Datumanong could have violated Republic Act 6715, known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officers and Employees, when he failed to take action, within 15 days, on Gene Orejana’s plaint. Under this law, all government officers, under pain of penal sanctions, are required to respond to complaints sent by the public, within 15 working days from receipt of the complaints.

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While I admire Atty. Castelo for her apparent desire to have existing laws implemented, I must nonetheless caution her to be less naive and idealistic, to realize that here in the Philippines, laws are made to be broken, not to be implemented. Thus, if we expect Datumanong to comply with a law like R.A. 6715, we must be cock-eyed optimists who are daydreamers.

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PULSEBEAT: Louie Victor, writing from abroad, sent word that former Transportation and Communications Secretary Reinerio Reyes, who served during the presidency of Corazon Aquino, must still be living in Connecticut, USA. Reyes’ son is also based there . . . E.J. Saguil informed us that the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue in New York City remains drab and neglected, the same way that it has been since five years ago. The Philippine Center houses the offices of the Philippine Delegation to the United Nations.

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Thoughts For Today:

The happiest people don’t have everything in life.
Perhaps they are just good in making the best
of everything that life brings their way.

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A little faith will bring your soul to heaven,
but a lot of faith will bring heaven to your soul.

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My e-mail address: <[email protected]> and <[email protected]>