Drilon’s ‘wish’

By Alex P. Vidal 

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”  —Plato

FORMER Senate President Franklin “Frank” Drilon, 78, said he wished the animosity between his friend, 67-year-old Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, and 45-year-old Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda would be settled before the 2025 election.

It’s good to hear the eminent Iloilo leader come out with a rock-ribbed statement about the Treñas-Baronda setto that has demoralized many of their common supporters.

But we also wish to hear Drilon declare “I wish or hope that the contractors of the P680-million Ungka flyover in Pavia will face investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman and, if necessary, go to jail.”

So far, Drilon has blamed the project’s designer, not the contractors.

“The designer should be held responsible and should do their jobs well. The problem here is the design,” Drilon said over the week.

The 453.7-meter flyover was fully operational for commuters on September 5, 2022, but it was closed just two weeks later due to confirmed vertical displacement in the structure.

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Also, we wish to hear Drilon say, “I wish or hope that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Department of Transportation (DoTr) will expedite the repair of the faulty facilities at Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan town.”

Ilonggos have been fretting over the delays in the “shabby” airport’s repair and expansion despite the P190-million budget allocated under the national government’s 2024 Aviation Transport Infrastructure Program.

If Drilon can speak openly and feverishly about political matters and their impact on the relationship between Iloilo City’s congresswoman and city mayor, which has minimal significance in the life of the Ilonggos, he should be able to talk lengthily and expound on his stand regarding the two major issues on infrastructure that have affected the safety, reputation, convenience and prosperity of the city and province of Iloilo as a whole.

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THE reason why the Philippines and Vatican are the only states in the world that don’t have a divorce law until now is because, like Vatican, the home to the Pope and a trove of iconic art and architecture, the Philippines is a unique country.

Being alone or being “left behind” in the issue of divorce does not make the Philippines inferior and anachronistic.

Filipinos consider their families to be the main sources of strength and life. It’s been tested and proven that most of the 118 million Filipinos are pro-family and would cling to one another no matter what.

Divorce destroys the family no matter how the 139 solons who approved House Bill (HB) 9349 or the Absolute Divorce Act will justify their votes.

Nothing is perfect in this world. Relationships, like the climate and human temperament, totter and teeter every now and then; but we don’t fight climate and we don’t contest the Theory of the Four Humors.

Now that it has been passed in the Lower House (amid cheers from the bill’s proponents and supporters), the bill has become a bitter pill to swallow for many Filipinos who never dreamt of seeing that divisive bill introduced in the legislature in this age.

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PROTECT A CHILD. A child who was sexually and emotionally abused will develop eating disorders like bulimia, minus the countervailing purging behavior, and compulsive overeating, according to David M. Dunkley, a psychiatric researcher and clinical psychologist at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

MAN, THE THINKER. Technology is a product of man’s capacity to think.

BRAIN POWER. The area inside our head is the greatest unexplored territory in the world. It is where reason and creativity emanate. It is the most precious and complex form of protoplasm.

DIRTIER AREA.There are more bacteria and other harmful microorganisms in the kitchen than in the toilet room, according to health authorities.

ACT OF COWARDICE. Treacherous characters strike and implement their aggression when their targets are not prepared to deal with their savagery. These are the cowards that should be dealt with accordingly and blown to bits. Napoleon Bonaparte and Alexander The Great were among the famous titans who baffled their adversaries and beat them to the pulp.

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