Did Rep. Jojo Ang give Iloilo shame and embarrassment?

By Alex P. Vidal

“One person’s embarrassment is another person’s accountability.” — Tom Price

ILONGGOS are not used to seeing or hearing their representatives both in the Lower and Upper chambers of Congress being dragged into scandal and anomaly.

On the contrary, they are accustomed to watching their Iloilo representatives excel as lawmakers—as debaters and framers of quality and landmark legislations and darlings of the press.

In fact, some of the most consistently outstanding and highly esteemed congresspeople in the Philippines have been Ilonggos—or those with roots from Panay Island but were representing other districts in another regions, including past constitutional assembly delegates.

In recent memory, no solon from Iloilo, or Western Visayas for that matter, has been accused of bribery, mulcting, graft and corruption of epic proportions, plunder, smuggling, involvement in illegal drugs and illegal gambling.

There have been no known infra projects 10-percenter congresspeople from Iloilo.

Until Jojo Ang came.

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No one can tell if the Discaya husband and wife were telling the truth when they named Uswag Ilonggo partylist Representative James “Jojo” Ang Jr., among other members of the House of Representatives—including Speaker Martin Romualdez—and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, as among those who allegedly demanded kickbacks from the couple in exchange of multi-millions of pesos worth of infrastructure projects that were mostly related to flood-control.

Congressman James “Jojo” Ang Jr. was the only solon from Iloilo mentioned in the Discaya list.

Although he had already denied the Discayas’ allegations, we’re sure Ang’s Iloilo political benefactors led by former Iloilo City mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, 68, aren’t happy that Uswag Ilonggo partylist, was mentioned “live” in a not-so-pleasant manner before the national TV, or during the recent Senate committee investigation.

“I strongly and categorically deny the baseless accusations linking me to alleged corrupt practices and illegal acts. The ongoing flood-control investigation is a serious matter,” Ang declared in a statement.

“I am totally surprised that my name has been mentioned. It is unfortunate that some interested parties have chosen to resort to name-dragging for their personal agenda.”

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He added: “I urge the public to be circumspect and to remain focused on the facts. I denounce all types of corruption that prejudices not just the government but undermines the trust reposed to us by the Filipino people.”

“I am one with the people in exacting accountability from those responsible for robbing our people of their hard-earned taxes and eroding the integrity of our institutions. We should all be guided bỷ the truth and the rule of law.

“I have adhered to my mandate to serve the people and the sector I represent with integrity. My actions have been and will always be guided by my commitment to fulfill that trust,” Ang asserted.

Did Congressman Jojo Ang give Iloilo shame and embarrassment? If not, he deserves his day in court and the Discayas owe him an apology. Ilonggos should also stand behind him.

If yes, Ang has no reason to stay a minute longer in the House of Representatives if he will only humiliate the Ilonggos with his alleged involvement in the flood-control projects anomaly.

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The mind of hitherto world No. 1 24-year-old Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner had already shifted in the 90 minutes between his loss by 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final and his post-match debrief September 7 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.

Rather than dwelling on the pain of losing his US Open title and No 1 ranking, Sinner was thinking about the future.

He felt his game was too predictable, even one-dimensional, compared with Alcaraz, whose deep toolbox of shots left him uncomfortable and unable to find rhythm on the court, observed The Guardian.

As a result of that discomfort, Sinner made a decision. The 24-year-old resolved to make significant changes to his game in pursuit of becoming a better, more complete tennis player and keeping up with his rival, even if he might suffer in the short term.

“I’m going to aim to maybe even lose some matches from now on, but trying to do some changes trying to be a bit more unpredictable,” Sinner said. “Because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better player.”

It was a remarkable admission, particularly considering Sinner’s own dominance in recent years, added The Guardian. Over the past 52 weeks, the Italian holds a 51-1 record against opponents not named Alcaraz and is 74-1 against everyone but Alcaraz on hard courts since November 2023.

This is firstly a reflection of his Spanish opponent’s greatness, already one of the best players in the game’s history, whose career continues to move at a historic pace. His first grand slam title at the US Open established him as the first teenage ATP No 1 in history, and now with his second success in New York he is the second‑youngest man to win six majors.

At 22, he is also the fourth man to win multiple major titles on all three surfaces. He still has so much room for improvement.

He has spent the past two years destroying opponents, compiling 65 consecutive weeks at No 1. However, Alcaraz has now won seven of their past eight meetings. Only one player has forced him to make those changes.

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