ICI, ICC, oh I see

By Alex P. Vidal

“Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans. It is lovely to be silly at the right moment.” – Horace

THERE seems to be a smorgasbord of hot and controversial items in the Philippines these past weeks that some people are already getting confused if not provoked to think critically and chaotically.

While the nation is on tenterhooks for the promised historical arrest and jailing of so-called political VIPs linked in the flood control project kickbacks “before or during Christmas day,” news kept buzzing also about the “possible” arrest soon of suspected mass murderer Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and fugitives Harry Roque and Zaldy Co.

People’s attention has been ludicrously swinging like a pendulum from the International Criminal Court (ICCI) to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) vice versa hoping to catch up with some vivacious developments on these major issues based on the timeline set.

Will it be Harry or Zaldy first? Will Bato go first? Will Bong Revilla, Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, et al grab the headlines?

This could probably be the reason why no less than the president himself who has been in full throttle announcing the updates on these cases, which was a major twist given his deafening silence before Zaldy Co launched his coup de grace that went pfft two weeks ago.

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No worries yet. Filipinos have already given much leverage to the Marcos Jr. administration to do its homework, and they’re bent to extend that privilege unconditionally.

They’ve tolerated the president and his minions while they were saying the things they needed to say however superfluous they may be sometimes, if they will eventually see and feel the results.

All of a sudden, the cases of missing sabunggero entered the picture when the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced the filing of criminal raps against Atong Ang and several other cops, further widening the people’s curiosity and excitement on who will fall first or which case is being given utmost priority by authorities.

In the next two weeks, we expect the Marcos Jr. administration to step on the gas in order to deliver its promise to neutralize and collect some of the initial names as major players in the flood control project shambles.

It is aware that failure to do so will further erode the people’s trust and confidence in government; President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. himself will lose credibility if no big names land in jail other than erstwhile billionaire contractor Sarah Discaya, who has been this administration’s favorite whipping girl in as far as flood control project scandal is concerned.

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I received another email from New York Governor Kathy Hochul which she also sent to other New Yorkers:

Alex, Making New York more affordable is not just a goal. It’s a responsibility that I take seriously.

I hear from families every day who are feeling the pressure of higher prices on everything from groceries to gifts for the holidays. As we enter the holiday season, we’re continuing our work to make life more affordable for millions of New Yorkers.

When I said we’d put more money back in your pockets, I meant it. In the last month, we finished sending out Inflation Refund checks of up to $400 to 8.2 million New Yorkers — just one part of our work to make life more affordable for all New Yorkers.

Making sure no New Yorker is left in the cold. When the federal government refused to release heating assistance funds, we took action to protect New Yorkers’ utility bill discounts and help eligible New Yorkers sign up for state heating assistance. After weeks of our demands, the federal government finally restored our funding.

Putting money in parents’ pockets. I want to make it easier for working parents to cover all the costs that come with raising a family. I joined moms and dads to talk about our expanded Child Tax Credit taking effect in January, which gives parents up to $1,000 per child to help make life a little easier.

Kicking retail theft to the curb. We’ve taken bold action to protect New York businesses from retail theft. I was proud to report that these investments, paired with the hard work of State Police and local law enforcement, are continuing to help drive down retail theft in our communities. There’s more work to do, but this is real progress.

Money back in your pockets, communities where you feel safe, and more opportunities for you to get ahead. That’s what I’m going to continue fighting for every single day.

Because every investment we make is about fighting for New York families — always. Ever Upward, Gov. Kathy Hochul

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