Stick to values

By Alex P. Vidal

“Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite.”—Charles Spurgeon

WE support the stand of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines to focus on the values of the candidates running for public office on May 9, 2022, rather than their popularity, wealth, influence and connection.

We maintain that what the country badly needs today are leaders who have strong set of values.

A religious person intending to become a leader is OK, but sometimes he won’t prioritize the people’s welfare because he is enamored with his religion, or he is bedeviled by a conflict of interest involving his religion.

Our values will carry us to where money and popularity can’t.

A leader of values will be ashamed and afraid to steal.

A leader of values will not accept bribes from law violators and SOPs from unscrupulous contractors and lobbyists.

A leader of values will have a good moral character and is a role model.

A leader of values will take care and defend our sovereignty and constitution; he will fight for his people, not betray them and sell their national patrimony.

We must learn from our past lessons when we wrongly elected fraudulent characters who sucked our blood, governed us based on fear, and murdered our family members.

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It seems the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has tolerated some candidates in the May 9, 2022 elections like Antique Rep. Loren Legarda who “overwhelm” their competitors with campaign advertisements in the electronic media and the internet.

Some people may think Legarda, who is again running for senator, is running for president or vice president anew owing to the volume of campaign ads she spread all over the news websites, including the print and broadcast media.

Legarda’s video clips almost occupied the bigger chunk of the spaces supposedly allotted for all senatorial candidates.

Is she so desperate to reclaim her senate post and is also aiming to land in the top 5 at the same time?

If all her paid campaign materials were accommodated by the media outfits nationwide, she must have violated the Comelec restrictions on overspending as far as the campaign advertisement is concerned.

Despite this seeming overabundance of campaign ads, the lady solon’s jingles and video clips proved to be substantially arranged and was impressive in form as they promoted self-reliance and the use of indigenous materials.

The campaign ads also highlighted her past accomplishments. Everything seemed done professionally, except perhaps her wrong choice of the personality seen interviewing her in those video clips.

The appearance of the lady who gyrates like a shrimp and excessively shrieks like Matutina, wasn’t any more necessary as it only distracted the advertisement’s real essence.

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The Broadband Plan for all New Yorkers. During her recent State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the ConnectALL Initiative, a transformative plan to invest in New York’s digital infrastructure to bring affordable, reliable broadband service to all New Yorkers.

A major component of this initiative is the Affordable Connectivity Program.

For too long, broadband service has been out of reach for many New Yorkers because of its cost; on average, broadband service is priced at more than $60 a month.

The Affordable Connectivity Program helps low-income households pay for internet service and connected devices, providing the following for eligible households:

Up to $30/month discount on internet service

Up to $75/month discount if your household is on qualifying tribal lands

A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer (with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50)

Access to reliable broadband service is an essential resource for anyone who wants to start a business, find a job, access healthcare, and communicate with loved ones.

With the promotion of the Affordable Connectivity Program and through the ConnectALL Initiative Governor Hochul has laid the groundwork to connect all New Yorkers and make New York a leader in the 21st century connected economy.

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