Dog owners, lovers against dog racing

Last Tuesday as I was on my way to the airport, I got a call from Sen. Tito Sotto who commented about the column we wrote chastising former Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada who accused Cebuanos of cheating in the last elections when he was in Cebu a couple of weeks ago to help prop up the tattered opposition here. Sen. Sotto wanted to correct me that Erap never made such a statement or rather he was merely misquoted. Sen. Sotto told me that he only pointed this now because he was in the US when the story came out.

Earlier, Radioman Cirse “Kuya Choy” Torralba also called me on behalf of Sen. Loren Legarda, whom I also mentioned in that column for saying the same thing during the “Hello Garci Scam.” Kuya Choy told me that Sen. Loren has already changed this statement. In order to clear the air, I asked Kuya Choy a copy of that “rephrased” statement from Sen. Loren. I still haven’t got it.

As for Erap, I would like to believe that our reporters from the three local dailies quoted him verbatim. He no doubt said that we Cebuanos cheated in the last Presidential elections, which is why his pal, Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) lost his presidential bid against Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Sen. Sotto corrected me when I wrote that FPJ didn’t have a local slate, which is why he lost terribly. Sen. Sotto told me that FPJ did have a provincial slate, led by Fred Tuadles! Fred Tuadles was a golf buddy of mine in the old days. He’s no politician. He merely did the bidding of Erap to put up a provincial slate for FPJ, despite no one knowing who he was. He never even ran for barangay captain! FPJ might as well have ran without a slate if he only had Tuadles to ran with him.

This is a lesson for Erap (and for Sen. Legarda as well) to watch your tongue especially when you accuse us Cebuanos of cheating in the last elections. Your words will boomerang when once again, you will come to Cebu to ask for our votes. With the 2010 presidential elections fast approaching, how can you now face the Cebuano voters unless you have already retracted your accusing statement and made your “Mea Culpas?”

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I was in Manila last Tuesday for The Philippine Star’s 23rd Anniversary and for a presscon by the People’s Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in Asia in the office of Sen. Jamby Madrigal at 1:30pm. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed because of bad traffic at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). But that was reported in The Star yesterday, with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) the lead group condemning House Bill no. 5291 and 5648. This was the House Bill authored by Cebu’s members of Congress, Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz and Rep. Benhur Salimbangon that allows Greyhound Racing in Mandaue City.

We began writing about this issue when we read it from the column of Neal Cruz, but we haven’t heard a peep from Rep. Soon-Ruiz or Rep. Salimbangon as to why they sponsored this bill and who would be the principal beneficiary. We learned that the main beneficiary is the Fox New Millennium Amusement Club, Inc. (FNMACI) a new face in the business world. But if they are truly legitimate, why hasn’t anyone from Fox Millennium responded or reacted to this column or the column of Neal Cruz?

If this “beneficio” will help a lot of poor people in Mandaue City, then I expect Mayor Jonas Cortes to react when we asked him in previous columns whether he would allow the operation of dog racing in his city or not? All we got is a blank wall or “dead ma”. Even the noisy Catholic Church has kept silent on this issue when in the past; they would be the first to shout out loud against gambling projects such as this. Fortunately, as stated by Sen. Madrigal, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal already expressed his concern in the use of dogs for this type of gambling. I don’t know why the Cebu media didn’t get hold of this story.

When I first wrote about this story, the first Greyhound Racing would be in Mandaue City. But apparently plans are afoot to also give this franchise to Rizal, Pampanga and Laguna, hence this is now a nationwide issue. It’s about time Fox Millennium officials come out in the open to defend themselves. The longer they remain quiet, the more reason we would believe that they are not above board, therefore giving them a gambling franchise would be akin to allowing the infamous Pinedas of Pampanga a congressional franchise to legally operate Jueteng.

 With elections coming , we expect explanations from Rep. Soon-Ruiz and Rep. Benhur Salimbangon as to why they sponsored this bill - which I suspect would make certain rich people more rich than they can imagine - and who are the people behind Fox Millennium?