Who's a Pen in the neck?

A father of l0 kids is asking financial help from the government. "It's no joke raising 10 kids," he said. Raising 10 kids is really not a joke. So stop kidding.

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This one is from my friend Ben Ypil: "Erap (galit na galit): There have been a lot of allegations against me. I would like to know who the alligators are."

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It says here that toy guns adversely affect the mind of boys toying with them.  But my kumpadre Nick-Nick is forcing his four-year-old son to play with toy guns because the boy loves to play with dolls.

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An expert told Nick-Nick that if he allowed his boy to keep on playing with guns he might grow up to be a killer. "And if he'd continue playing with dolls, what would he grow up to be?" Nick-Nick asked the expert.

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There's a hit song making a run in the charts, according to Jesse Bacon (pronounce that Bah-con not Bey-con) formerly of TF and now of The Tribune. Here's the year's top hit: "Pen Pen Manila Pen, de kudeta de Army men, haw-haw de mediamen nabatuten."

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Sing that to the tune of "Penpen de sarapen, de kutselyo de almasen," the hit song of Pinoy kids when Trillanes was not even in diapers yet.

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The word Pen has become the most abused or most punned word in Metro Manila following the Manila Pen standoff. Look at this: A lot of mediamen, they say, have been Pen-alized resulting in some kind of Pen-demonium in media circles...and I heard some mediamen say Trillanes is a Pen in the neck.

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 Levity aside now, we welcome the proposal to ban drunk people from riding in public utility vehicles like the jeepney, bus and taxi.  On many occasions I made a similar suggestion after receiving reports about drunk passengers causing trouble while on board the vehicle.  Some of these reports have found their way into The Ear column.

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Not long ago a Labangon-bound PUJ was quickly emptied when it stopped on a red traffic light after a drunk man toting a .45 cal. pistol boarded the jeepney and sat on the lap of a woman passenger. The driver could do nothing, let alone ask the drunk gun-packing man to get off. In fact, it was learned that he too fled his own vehicle when the gunman ordered him to take him to a place outside of his normal route.

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Yes, Sir, drunk people should not be allowed to ride in PUJs, buses or taxis. This is one way of minimizing the number of drunks in this town.