Wealthiest and least corrupt

By Alex P. Vidal

“People always want welfare, development, and good governance. As long as you are delivering, people are with you.”—N. Chandrababu Naidu

WE are proud to brag that aside from one of the top 10 wealthiest cities in the Philippines, Iloilo City, with assets amounting to P39.5 billion based on the 2024 Annual Financial Report (slightly edging Paranaque City with P39.2 billion for 6^th place) is also among the safest and cleanest nationwide and, more importantly, least corrupt.

Numerous public lands, plazas, buildings, infrastructure, and real property assets have been cited as among those comprising the City of Love’s incredible assets.

A wealthy, clean, safe and least corrupt metropolis is always a one-two-three-four punch advantage; it is certainly a dream for local and foreign investors.

No business enterprise will thrive in a city governed by corrupt and inept leaders, or with a horrendous traffic problem, and where crime rate is skyrocketing.

Investors are turned off if a city has a poor record in garbage disposal, inefficient urban development, and with dysfunctional social services.

-o0o-

A competitive city needs strong economic proactive outreach, economic fundamentals, transparent governance (clear financials, open communication), streamlined processes (easy permits, less red tape), and a clear vision.

It also needs a high quality of life to attract talent, focusing on delivery and building strong relationships to show reliability and potential for growth to gain investor trust.

The “least corrupt” tag is very important because it means having the lowest level of abuse of power for private gain, characterized by high integrity, transparency, strong laws, and ethical behavior in government and institutions.

These are the cities where people are morally upright and incorruptible, like Denmark or New Zealand, which consistently rank high on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

-o0o-

With the present structure and culture in Philippine sports, it’s impossible for the country to improve its 6^th place standing in the soon-to-be-concluded 33^rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand, December 9-20, 2025.

We don’t see any improvement for the Philippines in the 34^th edition in Malaysia two years from now.

Our sports program as a whole remains decrepit, and it has been like this since the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) was created in 1990 during the mother Aquino administration.

We have no problem with the individual performances of our athletes. They excel, break records, and harvest medals based on their own struggles and talents, but they can’t pull away the Philippines as a competing team from the nadir where it has been buried in the 10-nation biennial competition.

-o0o-

LET’S EAT FISH. In a recent Swedish study of nearly 5,000 boys ages 15 to 18, those who ate fish frequently scored higher on intelligence tests. How much higher? Eating fish once a week was enough to boost scores by an average of 6 percent. Eating fish more than that resulted in nearly an 11 percent increase. Dr. Maria Aberg recommends fatty fish, like salmon, 2 to 3 times weekly.

HOW TO FIGHT TOO MUCH TEXTING. 1. Establish text-free zone. Kids often open up at the dinner table and in the car, so be sure to protect those precious places. Agree that texting is not allowed during mealtime or on drives to and from school and activities. 2. Let phones rest at night. 3. Be a role model.

SEVEN STEPS TO FORGIVENESS. 1. Allow us to feel anger 2. Let’s talk about it with a trusted friend 3. Let’s calm ourselves when we start feeling upset 4. Let’s empathize with the person who hurt us 5. Remind ourselves that forgiveness is a gift to ourselves. 6. Let’s commit to forgiveness 7. Let’s relish the release. (Source: Ginny Graves)

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