Iloilo’s future political star

By Alex P. Vidal

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”— Dwight D. Eisenhower

PRESUMPTIVE future lady solon Raisa Treñas should start showing the Ilonggo voters that she is her own woman despite being publicly endorsed by her dad, Iloilo City mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, to be the next representative in the lone district of Iloilo City vice current Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda (granting Baronda won’t seek reelection on her own and still win in the next election).

How? By starting to meet the press in conferences frequently and making her presence felt in major gatherings and public events even without the presence of her father.

Also, by giving speeches in educational and cultural institutions, barangay conclaves, economic gabs, and logging more exposure in the mass and social media.

In a most recent press conference where the city mayor announced his political separation from Baronda and formally introduced the political plans of Raisa (Mrs. Raisa Maria Lourdes Treñas-Chu), the daughter, a degree holder in economics, showed the potential of being a good speaker. She was confident, calm and focused.

The job of a legislator is a job of a good speaker and a thinker to boot. When a lawmaker sponsors a certain bill, he or she has to defend it in a deliberation or floor debate.

Lawmakers who can’t debate or adamant to debate are normally mocked as “members of the committee on silence.”

Because the press conference with her father and Uswag partylist Rep. James “Jojo” Ang was more about announcement of a major political breakup between two political behemoths in Iloilo City, Raisa or Mrs. Treñas-Chu wasn’t given ample time to talk.

Not all sons and daughters of seasoned politicians are gifted and possessed the qualities of good leaders like their outstanding parents.

Judging from the way she spoke the young and vibrant Mrs. Treñas-Chu could be the next political star to come out from the Visayas.

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MARCOS-BLINKEN MEETING. The below is attributable to US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., March 19 in Manila, the Philippines.  Secretary Blinken and President Marcos emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Philippine Alliance to security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and underscored their shared commitment to upholding international law in the South China Sea.

Secretary Blinken and President Marcos noted the recent successful Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to Manila, the signing of a civil nuclear cooperation “123” agreement during APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in San Francisco, and additional initiatives underway to foster cooperation in support of our shared economic priorities, including on semiconductors, clean energy, digital economy, and infrastructure.

The Secretary and President Marcos looked forward to upcoming high-level events to strengthen our bilateral ties, including the meeting between Presidents Marcos and Biden in April in Washington, DC.

They welcomed the first trilateral leaders’ summit between the United States, the Philippines, and Japan, also to be  vheld in Washington in April.

The Secretary and President Marcos also discussed efforts to promote respect for human rights and strengthen democratic institutions.

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According to experts in environment, the following are some of the ways in which man has upset nature’s balance and reduced our supplies of natural wealth:

1. Destruction of vast forest areas. Enormous quantities of lumber were taken from our forests for buildings, furniture, fuel, and other useful purposes.

But because of the apparent abundance of forests, lumbering practices were very wasteful. Little heed was given to the replanting of trees to keep our forests producing for the future.

2. Destruction of wildlife. When forests are cut away, the homes of countless animals are destroyed, and these animals die.

The balance of nature has been upset at a vital point, and entire species may vanish as a result.

Added to this is the effect of needless trapping and shooting of animals for sport.

Examples of species made extinct or nearly extinct by man most particularly in America are: American bison (buffalo), antelope, passenger pigeon.

3. Reckless use of farmlands. Nature’s orderly processes keep soils permanently fertile.

But when man’s sole interest is to extract the maximum crop from his farm each year, regardless of the consequences, the soil soon loses its essential minerals and cannot support plant life at all. The soil, moreover, loosened and laid bare by the planting and harvesting of a single crop, and the wind and the rain easily carry it away.

4. Overgrazing of pasture lands. Sheep- and cattle-raisers, through lack of planning and foresight, have pastured their animals on the same land year after year.

Here, too, the result has been to lay bare the soil, so that it falls victim to erosion.

5. Pollution of streams. The dumping of sewage and industrial wastes into streams and rivers makes these waters unhealthy for water life.

The result is the destruction of large numbers of fish, oysters, and other valuable organisms.

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