We forget easily

By Alex P. Vidal

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” –  Confucius

THE reason why cases against the bad characters in the Philippines should be expedited and prioritized is because the Filipinos forget easily.

If the cases drag on, there is tendency for anger to subside and the cry for justice fades away.

When the cases are tackled in snail pace, many things can happen when no one is watching. Arm-twisting tactics, back-door manipulations and mysteries gesticulate.

If the cases are delayed, justice is denied.

Such is the predicament the campaign against thieves in the flood control project anomalies is in danger of heading to.

People are not only getting forgetful, but they are also losing interest in the subject matter. Zaldy Co, et al remain scot-free and there has been no solid accountability among thieves in the higher echelon.

Only in November and December 2025, there was public revulsion and untold indignation; the taxpayers agitated for the blood of the rascals and looters in the DPWH and their conspirators in the House of RepresentaTHIEVES and SINnate.

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Moments of lethargy and boredom beckoned when only former senator Pogi Revilla Jr. was canned along with a host of nondescript contractors and DPWH hooligans.

Frustrations are now enormous among those who expected too much from the promises (that many corrupt solons and SINators would be spending Christmas in jail) made by the Ombudsman and President Bongbong Marcos Jr. himself.

To add insult, the talkative Remulla political brothers, presidential wanna-be Junvic “Laway” (saliva) and Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Laway” (saliva) offered no satisfactory explanation why the rest of the white-collar gangsters weren’t arrested yet other than saying, “we are still tightening up the cases against them.”

The cases weren’t yet “tight” and yet their lips broke loose in repeatedly giving the public false hopes and expectations?

Today, or barely two months in 2026, we can only count in our fingers characters who are willing to make a noise and demand from the Marcos Jr. administration to round up all those scalawags who stole billions of pesos in the flood control project scam.

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WINTER COLD UPDATE. Even if we hardly recovered from the January 25 monster snowstorm New York City has now warmed above freezing for two consecutive days.

“OK, maybe don’t go that crazy, but enjoy the warm spell while it lasts — because the floor drops out from under us again this weekend. Get ready for some of the coldest wind chills we’ve faced so far this winter,” cautioned the NBC New York.

Another blast of arctic air will reportedly descend on the Northeast overnight Friday (February 6) night.

A cold front will mark the leading edge of the bitter arctic air mass that will lock in through the weekend. It could come with some light snow during the overnight hours but will bring little to no accumulation, warned the NBC New York.

The biggest issue with the onslaught of the cold air will be the wind that will come with it. According to report, Saturday (February 7) temperatures will hold in the teens. Sustained winds will be 15-20 mph with gusts as high as 40 mph.

That means the wind chill will hover below zero throughout the day across most of the region.

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“You’ll need to cover as much exposed skin as possible to avoid frost bite, which can set in on bare skin after just 30 minutes,” NBC New York added.

“The wind will continue to bite through early Sunday, so you’ll wake up Sunday morning to some of the coldest wind chills of the season: 5 to 10 degrees below zero in the city.”

Winds will relax throughout the day on Sunday, so the wind chill will be much more tolerable – but still cold – during the afternoon.

The most optimistic news in the long-range forecast is that this weekend may be the last deep, deep freeze we feel for a while. Next week we expect a return to above-freezing afternoon temperatures that may help to melt some of the big snow we got the last week of January.

Looking out two weeks from now, weather forecasters said the story remains the same: no new arctic blasts. Temperatures for most of the country are expected to be above normal, with the Northeast likely to feel near-normal temperatures.

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