No to emergency powers for PNoy
I was in Manila since Sunday afternoon in connection with the invitation of the Asian Development Tour to attend the Media Golf meet and presscon to welcome for the first time in Manila the Aboitiz Invitation 4th edition. The first three Aboitiz Invitationals were held at the Cebu County Club for three straight years. But since the Cebu Country Club has already decided to renovate its golf course with a Jack Nicklaus Company, the Aboitiz Invitational had to be moved to Manila and this move is exciting to Manila-based pro golfers because of their home course advantage.
The 4th Aboitiz Invitational will now be held at the Riviera Golf and Country Club’s Couples Course. This is the course that I played with Aboitiz Equity Ventures Senior Vice-President Ernest Villareal, Philippine Star columnist Alex Magno, and Manila Standard columnist Jojo Robles. Thankfully it rained only for the first few holes.
The presscon was spearheaded by Ernest Villareal, Irfan Hamid, Asian Tours Associate Director for Business Development and Ms. Colo Ventosa, General Manager of Philippine Golf Tour Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and Golf Pros Antonio Lascuna and Angelo Que were present during the presscon and are eagerly awaiting the Aboitiz Invitational which was won last year by Jay Bayron, more so that Aboitiz increased the prize money from last year’s US $65,000 to US $100,000 dollars. The 4th Aboitiz Invitational kicks off on Aug.27-30th at the Riviera Golf & Country Club in Silang, Cavite.
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I haven’t played golf in Metro Manila for the last 10 years due to circumstances. So in a good way, I was glad that I accepted the Media Golf invitation of the Aboitiz Group that announced the much-awaited 4th edition of the Aboitiz Invitational Tournament. One thing is certain, if and when you play golf in Metro Manila, especially in the golf courses in Laguna or Cavite, you’re looking at a whole day affair. Yes, it took us more than 2 hours from my hotel in Makati to reach the Riviera Golf course in Silang, Cavite.
Good thing that our driver knew certain shortcuts that passes through many villages that we didn’t miss our flight. This just gives you an idea of how far people in Metro Manila live from the main business centers of Makati, Taguig, Quezon City, and Manila to go to work and back home. Call us lucky that people who live in Argao do not commute to work in Cebu City because that’s about the same time needed by most people in Manila to travel to work, school, and return to the house.
If not for the Skyways going to Ayala Alabang, traffic would be nearly impossible in Manila. Yes, Metro Manila is now a web of flyovers and overpasses for vehicles because of notorious traffic jams. Call it the greed of Imperial Manila… for siphoning off all the work advantages to the detriment of people looking for jobs in the Visayas and Mindanao.
However there is a price to pay for this greed. Last Monday, the Philippine Star headlined this news, “DOE chief warns of 2-hour blackouts next summer. But if you read this report, it clearly states that by next year, there would be 2 to 3-hour rotating blackouts by the summer of 2015 according to Sec. Carlos Jericho Petilla. So many people use electricity in Metro Manila.
I honestly don’t know why Sec. Petilla issued this warning. I could very well be part and parcel of the plan by Cabinet Secretaries who are seeking emergency powers for Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III, as if giving him emergency powers would result in the reduction of that economically crippling 2 to 3 rotating blackouts in Metro Manila.
We know too well that PNoy wasted his four years on a family vengeance against former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who he ordered arrested and a greater deal of time and the people’s money to impeach former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Renato Corona, which is why he had no time to tackle the more important issues that continue to plaque the nation. So we say “No” to emergency powers for PNoy!
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Incidentally, a headline news also appeared in the Health & Medicine section of the Philippine Star last Monday on page 20, which blared, “Pill linked to Breast Cancer risk for younger women.” As the report goes, “A new statistical analysis finds that women under age 50 who were diagnosed with breast cancer were also more likely to have recently been on some versions of the pill.” Mind you, this is not really a new analysis. In fact, I recall that during a GMA-TV interview on the pros and cons of the Reproductive Health Bill, Rep. Roilo Golez had a shouting match with former Department of Health Sec. Esperanza Cabral, who had to openly admit that contraceptives are linked to Breast Cancer. So if the DOH is giving out pills to poor unsuspecting young women, they might as well give them coffins too!
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