Cabinet officials and wives: Watch out for Gloria’s fury

WRATH OF GLORIA: That was a naughty trick naming the raging typhoon "Gloria." We hope this does not signal a revamp of glorious fury of the weather bureau.

To atone for this mortal sin, and for a semblance of political balance, maybe the bureau chief or whoever baptized the typhoon can rush up some oppositionist names. While Erap and Edong had been bypassed in the alphabetical order of typhoons blowing through town (we're now in "G"), Ping and Nene may still be available.

And, we've always wanted to ask: Who was the smart guy who baptized the insipid weather bureau as "Pagasa" (hope)" Just where is the "hope" that is supposed to spring eternal in the hearts of our weather-beaten population?

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RELIEF OR REVAMP?: Talking of revamp, what Gloria (the President, not the typhoon) thought Local Government Secretary Jose Lina wanted to do with some star police officers was actually a major shuffle, not the relief of several regional directors some of whom are quite close to her.

Did Lina clear the massacre with the President? When Lina informed her of his plan, she said okay – thinking it was just a shuffle. It was only when the big news broke out and she started getting frantic calls that she realized that Lina had gone overboard and acted like a Grand Reaper of sorts.

Who would imagine GMA allowing Lina to relieve, for instance, Director General Edgar Aglipay of the National Capital Region? He is one of her favorite officers, what with his good record and having pushed back the Erap stragglers marching to Malacanang in May last year?

Maybe Lina thought he himself was about to get kicked out from the Cabinet so he tried preempting his impending relief? President Arroyo said with a chuckle that she had heard of that theory. But she did not indicate if she believed it or not.

Using the unabated operations of jueteng lords was passable enough an excuse for cutting down some police generals growing filthy rich, but we think Lina better think of other ways to be useful to the President.

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CECILE A LA MONTAYRE: Another Cabinet member who should exercise more care in the office, and even at home, is Secretary Heherson Alvarez of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

It seems that GMA had heard about Cecile, the secretary's doting wife, saying that she would do a Linda Montayre – a constant critic of the President – if her husband were replaced. Alvarez has been nominated, bypassed by the Commission on Appointments, reappointed and reno-minated so any times we have lost count.

"I think it was wrong for her to say that," the President said when asked about the reported threat of Mrs. Alvarez. Remember that line.

In the first place, Alvarez's handling of environment issues has been found wanting by his many critics who portray him as the wrong man for the job.

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"SUMBONG" FROM ROMBLON: Even from abroad, many Filipinos have been reacting to the "Sumbong from Romblon" sent us by Gene Reyes, president of the Concerned Citizens of Romblon who outlined what he called the DENR?s apparent collusion with Petron in putting up a fuel depot in a residential-tourism-commercial area in Ipil town.

One of the letters we've received came from Nic Musico, a native of Romblon residing in Honolulu for the past 30 years and currently a branch chief with Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services.

He says: "I have been following this Petron issue for two years now. It's interesting to note as also mentioned in your column that not much is known how this Petron oil storage project got to be built in Ipil, Romblon.

"What I know is that Petron started operating its oil storage facility last year in Ipil, a tourist-designated zone. I don't remember any discussions where Petron was given zoning variance to build in this area.

"Romblon's tourism development is at its infancy. It is critical that proper planning be established from the start to avoid similar problems experienced in other areas, like Boracay. Protection and preservation of Romblon Bay's eco-system is a must to this tourism development."

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ANSWERS NEEDED: Musico raised some basic questions:

1. What is the current capacity of the Petron bulk facility? How much volume capacity is Petron permitted to build in Ipil?

2. Why were no public hearings conducted prior to Petron's building the facility? Why were affected neighbors not informed of this plan to build a bulk facility in this tourism zone?

3. Why were oral and written objections/questions not addressed by Petron?

4. Why were immediate neighbors not briefed on potential hazards? Is there an evacuation plan? How are neighbors to respond when there is an emergency, such as fire at the facility?

5. Was there an engineering report? Was the community informed of this report, if there is one?

6. Was an environmental impact study (EIS) done? Was the community informed of this study, if there is one? Is there a spill response plan?

7. Is there a local regulatory agency to monitor if Petron is complying with local and national rules and regulations?

8. Is there a reporting procedure to regulatory agencies for spills and non-compliance of rules and regulations? If there are violations, are these violations made public?

9. How frequent do Petron barges come? What spill containment procedure do they follow or are in place while transferring fuel? Is there a regulatory agency that monitors the transferring of fuel?

People need answers to their concerns.

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SQUATTERS DELAY PROJECT: In Batangas City, it's something else. Squatters have invaded a portside area marked for development for Phase II of a P5.5-billion international seaport project. Word got around that like other squatters and residents in Phase I, they would be paid and given other incentives to vacate the premises.

Phase II calls for the expansion of the Batangas Port to adjoining areas, for which the Philippine Port Authority has allocated some P7.4 million for relocating residents and squatters. The defiant stand of the squatters, whose number has swelled (of course), has hampered work, resulting in additional costs of P117 million as of last May.

In 1994, when Phase I was started, hundreds of families were given relocation assistance of P35,000 per household. Instead of moving out, some of them stayed and used the money to buy space in the Phase II area in anticipation of another relocation.

Port authorities identify the leader of the stubborn residents and squatters as a certain barangay leader Thelma M. Maranan. With their mounting and diversifying demands, her group was reportedly able to extract some P35 million in additional compensation from the PPA recently.

Delayed by the relocation problem, the Phase II contractor, a joint venture between F.F. Cruz and the Japanese firm Shimizu, may not be able to finish the project in the 1,080 days specified in the bid.

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ANI'S SECOND WIND: So Ombudsman Aniano Desierto is on the list of nominees to the Supreme Court. Having turned 67 last April 25 and therefore up for retirement next month, his critics are harping on his age.

It seems to us, however, that some of his critics act and think older than Desierto. We suspect that their objections lie elsewhere since in his job, the Ombudsman is sure to displease somebody – either the complainant or the respondent – in every case brought before him.

As then Foreign Secretary Carlos P. Romulo once said, age does not matter. Ronald Reagan was in his seventies when he became US president. Current US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in his early seventies and was at his peak when he crafted America's response to the terrorist attacks in the US.

Long-serving but soon-retiring Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad is also in his seventies but presided over his country's transformation from a backwater, plantation economy into a modern industrial tiger.

Here at home, resigned foreign secretary and Vice President Teofisto Guingona just turned 74, but is said to have his eyes on the presidency in 2004.

Anyway, Desierto is very much in the running as he gets his "second wind" in his eventful stint in the judiciary.

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