Corruption can cause high blood pressure

This newspaper recently carried a two-part enterprise story on the rugby problem in which many of our kids have gotten stuck. This sure is a sticky problem.

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Let’s hope that despite its being a sticky problem, rugby sniffing will not get the anti-drug campaign stuck in a rut.

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 “Cha-Cha Still Alive: Nograles” – Headline. The Tagalogs have a saying that goes: “Ang masamang damo hindi mamamatay.”

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It’s Hypertension Awareness Month. An infomercial says we must reduce salt intake to prevent hypertension. Salt is not the only cause of hypertension. Corruption in government—pangurakot sa gobyerno—has been sending many people’s blood pressure to deadly heights.

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The P47 million fund mess in the AFP is an embarrassment to some military officers involved in the US-RP Balikbayan exercise. But the corrupt observers are pooh-poohing this mess. It’s only money, they say.

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 “Don’t trivialize the use of honor” was the title of retired Judge Lorenzo Paradiang Jr.’s column “As It Appears” last Tuesday. This trivialization of the use of “honor” has been going on for a long time. It was another retired judge and also a columnist of this newspaper who also put his thumbs down on it. He was Judge Peary G. Aleonar.

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I often meet this “Honorable” or “Hon.” someone in press releases. Not long ago, the so-called press relations officer of a club called me to ask why I deleted all the “Hons” he wrote before every barangay kagawad’s name in his PR. I said: “Editorial policy.” He replied: “Aw, diay ba.” And then banged the phone. Maybe he thought na-S lang ko kay di man ko kagawad so di ko honorable. Hehe!

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E-mail from Nonato (no family name given): “Something must be done about that towing truck personnel who mauled a traffic violator. Mayor-on-leave Osmeña has dared the victim to go to court and file charges. Minaut man na. Nganong di man niya himoan og aksiyon ang nahitabo? Nganong i-challenge ra man niya ang biktima sa pagsumbong ngadto sa korte? Iya rang gipadako ang atay sa mga abusado niyang sakop sa Citom.”

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It’s good to know that the Department of Education is pushing its “no collection policy” intended to attract more enrolees in public elementary schools. The reported collection of enrolment fees has been preventing many parents from enrolling their children, especially those in the lower grades.

This DepEd policy, if implemented to the letter, would draw kids away from the streets and eventually raise the literacy rate of the nation.

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