Constantly reminded

Every time I drive out to Batangas on weekends, it serves as a constant reminder that no less than the President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made the promise that by the year 2008 the Department of Public Works and Highways will begin the work required to connect the South Luzon Expressway with the STAR toll way.

For the millions of people who have long awaited this “miracle” there is much skepticism if the President’s promise will actually be kept considering the non-stop commercial developments that have been going on along the “Old highway” particularly in the portion of Calamba, Laguna.

Bus terminals have popped up like ambulant vendors occupying half of the road, more and more familiar restaurants and fast food joints have gone up on a strip of road that is suppose to lose at least half of its traffic. The question I ask is: does the local government of Calamba know something that we don’t?

Hopefully it’s just part of the continuing progress of the Laguna/Batangas area. What worries me is if Secretary Ebdane hosts another ribbon cutting ceremony and invites President Arroyo as guest of honor. That would be ribbon cutting ceremony number 3 or 4. They’ve done it so many times we already lost count.

What we did discover is that some of the properties alongside the proposed connection of the SLEX and STAR toll roads turn out to be owned by very big and very influential property developers who don’t see the value or appreciate the significant contribution that the expressway gives to their area.

So between the ongoing commercial development and the impact of the connected highway on “upscale” residential developments the question now is if Secretary Ebdane has the political will to push through with the connection. Can the DPWH deliver on a promise made by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo or should the millions of people living in Batangas, Laguna and Quezon push for a new Secretary for the department of public works and highways?

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Losers revenge

Many people have forgotten all about them. The media hardly calls them for interviews, and in some cases even their own friends don’t return calls anymore.

These are the unfortunate losers of the elections last May and in case you’re interested to know what has happened to them, well they have fallen into three categories.

The first category is for those realistic individual who having “loved” and lost or in this case “ran and lost” have now come to terms with their defeat and have moved on to less demanding, less expensive and more rational life.

The second category is for those who having lost are now busy looking for alternative employment or parallel positioning in government. They’re all very busy preparing for possible employment in about four months when the election ban for the hiring of losing candidates will be lifted.

There seems to be a lot of pressure upon President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to undertake a cabinet revamp. While part of the pressure comes from a legitimate call for better cabinet members, some of the pressure also comes from groups or individuals who are eager to get a government position once the ban on the hiring of losers is lifted.

The most targeted positions are the DENR, the Department of Energy, the DPWH and the Department of Finance and DILG. Even the Dept. of Finance is on someone’s wish list. The names that regularly crop up are Recto, Pichay, Alvarez etc. Of course this is just the tip of the ice berg but veteran Malacañang observers are certain that Secretary Leandro Mendoza will have to watch his back after his multiple controversies including that of his most trusted lieutenant the former Bureau of Corrections Director Dapat.

Recently we all heard of how some members of the MILF were ready to declare a Jihad on DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno for allegedly making very combative statements versus the MILF. In the same week Secretary Peter Favila of the DTI was nearly put over a bed of coal when word spread that he was behind a move to put a direct tax on text messages.

Given all the publicity that the PASG has earned from catching smuggled cars, even the seat if not the head of Customs Commissioner Morales is likely to go up in smoke as well. Even the citadel of funds and disposable resources called Pagcor is now in the cross-hairs of some losing candidates.

The “losers” are clearly doing all the spade work in terms of lobbying support among party mates as well as the decision makers in Malacañang. In addition to this they have suddenly become more mindful of media specially columnists who might be friendly to them or have a common enemy in the person of a certain cabinet member.

I for one have been surprised by a few phone calls from people who once upon a time rarely said hello or even bothered to call. How goes the saying: A friend in need, is a friend indeed?

This explains why departments such as the DPWH, the DENR, and the Dept. of Energy have had a lot of press releases and advertisements lately. They have not become more appreciative of being transparent they’re simply on self preservation mode.

What takes the cake as far as REAL Losers go are those in category three where the losers are still wallowing in their loss and unable to admit they lost. It wouldn’t be too bad if they kept to their depressed selves but they don’t.

Apparently suffering from deceit and dementia, some of these real losers are presently organizing and spending a lot of money to stage electoral recalls. Instead of looking for a real job and getting a real life, they are bent on disrupting the community and preventing progress because they won’t get the credit for it.

So if you think the elections ended last year, think again. The losers revenge will soon be upon us unless we expose them for what they really are… genuine certified losers!