Choosing a donkey over a lion

By Alex P. Vidal 

“I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” —Alexander the Great

IF he can’t put one DPWH official in jail, especially the corrupt district engineers and contractors who stole billions of pesos in taxpayers’ money in the flood-control projects anomaly, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will go down in shame and scandal.

Also, if the President can’t name or nail a single member of the House of RepresentaTHIEVES or even SINators involved in the anomaly, he will go down with a thud.

People will get mad if no one is held accountable and prosecuted in the multi-billion flood-control project scams in competent courts.

They will think he is a toothless tiger or a leader with no backbone.

Now that Mr. Marcos Jr. has let go his very popular and charismatic team member, Gen. Nicolas Torre III, as PNP director-general, his administration has lost an important fang that will run after big time crooks and influential people who run afoul of the law.

When Torre was ousted, Mr. Marcos Jr’s enemies were jubilant. They think Malacanang has committed a hara kiri by dumping a good leader while “tolerating” the sins of some cabinet officials who aren’t “like Caesar’s wife.”

For many Filipinos, it was one of Marcos Jr’s biggest blunders.

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The President chose a politician from Cavite over a decorated, no-nonsense and intrepid law enforcer responsible for capturing two infamous personalities in the country.

The President didn’t sack 80-year-old DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan for command responsibility, but yanked out Torre, who is extremely popular and didn’t even commit any malfeasance as the PNP boss.

If the warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC) will be out against Sen. Ronaldo “Bato” Dela Rosa, will his malambing DILG boss and the newly installed PNP chief succeed in bringing the talkative senator to The Hague?

If the warrant of arrest will be issued against suspected mass murderer and gambling lord Atong Ang and his showbiz business partner Gretchen Barretto, among other accused in the “Missing Sabunggero” imbroglio, will Junvic Remulla, et al succeed to capture them?

If globetrotter Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio will be indicted for threatening the life of the President and his wife, among other criminal offenses in relation to her alleged mishandling of confidential funds in the Department of Education (DeEd) and Office of the Vice President (OVP), will Remulla and the new PNP hierarchy tackle her and her obnoxious and violent diehards?

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It was Mr. Marcos Jr. who exposed the titanic scandal in the DPWH when reported initial findings on flood control projects from July 2022 totaling P545 billion in spending.

After his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month, the President alleged that while there are 2,409 contracting entities nationwide, a fifth of the total amount, or about P109 billion, went to just 15 contractors.

Five of the contractors have contracts spanning the entire country, a breadth of reach the President said was “highly unusual” in the construction sector.

Equally troubling, 6,021 projects worth over P350 billion were recorded with no details on what type of flood control structure was being built—whether dikes, drainage systems, pumping stations, or other works.

Now, people expect Marcos Jr. to finish what he has started. Ordering all government officials to subject themselves to lifestyle check isn’t enough.

People expect results. Heads must roll.

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IT has become the biggest ask in tennis: Finding a way to solve Jannik Sinner, according to US Open chronicler Richard Osborn.

Now 64 weeks into his reign atop the ATP Rankings—the fourth-longest first-time streak by any No. 1 in the history of the sport—the Italian has elevated his game to a whole new level; one, it seems, that only Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has been able to challenge with any regularity.

The four-time major titlist is riding a 22-match win streak at the hard-court Grand Slams. He also owns a 21-1 record at the Grand Slam level in 2025 after lifting trophies at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and reaching the Roland Garros final, where he held three championship points against the aforementioned Alcaraz.

Returning to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in search of a title defense, the top-seeded and top-ranked 24-year-old has found a way to continually vex his tour colleagues. So how do you beat this guy anyway?

Alexander Bublik has now faced Sinner on six occasions. Though the Kazakh trails the head-to-head, 2-4, he claimed their most recent encounter, in the Round of 16 on grass in Halle, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

“He’s fast, he’s resilient, he’s hitting hard, he’s taking the ball very early. I think he’s one of the two best players on the planet right now,” said the 24th-ranked Bublik, coupling Sinner with Alcaraz. “But Jannik is a machine. He hits everything on the rise. He’s able to do that for hours, weeks, months. Carlos is more exciting, in a way, because he is this crazy, spectacular, non-stop show. But Jannik is more of a cold killer.”

Vit Kopriva, 28, had the unfortunate pleasure of facing Sinner in the opening round this year in Flushing Meadows, in his Grand Slam main-draw debut. After a quick 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 defeat, the Czech baseliner extolled Sinner’s serve.

“It’s so good, the placement,” he said. “Some other players can serve faster, but the placement is so spot-on. When the moment is tight, he puts the first serve in. That’s what the great players do.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)