Why we need quality over popularity

By Alex P. Vidal

“Quality is everyone’s responsibility.”—W. Edwards Deming

TAXPAYERS money is also regretfully wasted when incompetent panelists participate in legislative investigations and prolong the hearings with their ugly verbal acrobatics and showboating.

There are legislative hearings like the ongoing Senate inquiry on the killings in Negros Oriental that can last for two to three hours only per session or per day based on the number of resource persons and other invited guests, but eat up five to six long hours because some committee members or the panelists lack the ability to control the discussions and handle the flow of questions and answers.

If the hearings are extended, the taxpayers will shoulder the electricity, overtime pay for staff of legislators, food and drinks served for the attendees and other expenses related to the committee investigation.

The delays are exacerbated if panelists or committee members who arrive late and did not participate when important matters were tackled earlier, want to grandstand and ask irrelevant, hallow, and non-sense questions.

Also, we really need legislators who know the laws and parliamentary procedures.

If possible, we need to send more lawyers or knowledgeable and dignified characters to the House and Representatives and the Senate and less of “pang masa” but bungling and amateurish legislators.

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That’s why it is imperative that we carefully elect quality legislators—senators and representatives—during the election, something that many of us always take for granted.

No amount of anything will ever beat the fact that it makes more sense to choose quality.

We save more time since good or quality legislators focus on the few significant things instead of everything. They won’t hoard on things that act as a temporary fix. They deliver and they inspire.

We can choose the best when we realize that our life will have more purpose in the decision we make during the election.

We only deserve the kinds of legislators or public officials, for that matter, that we elect.

The problem actually starts when popular circus players, clowns, showbiz misfits, putschists, bootlickers and dolts are allowed by our quirky electoral system to run and manage to tantalize and mesmerize the gullible voters.

When these nincompoops win, they are assigned in important committees that handle the legislative investigations. What happens next is the reason why I am writing about this disgusting reality.

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HAPPINESS DRINK. A study involving more than 1,000 Japanese people age 70 or over found that those who drank at least four cups of green tea a day enjoyed better moods than those drinking a cup or less. The uplifting ingredient is theanine, the researchers believe.

ROAD TO FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. Balance diet. Green tea. Vitamin D and fish oil. Good sleep. Laugh regularly (it is “the best medicine”). Control the temper (avoid getting mad, if necessary). Smile a lot. Daily exercise (walking is best and most natural).

ROAD TO FOUNTAIN OF MAYHEM. Eat a lot. Smoke a lot. Drink liquor excessively. Always display a frown face (better an ugly face than a caliginous face). Don’t exercise. Think negatively. Sleep at past midnight and wake up early. Interpret the Bible literally (this can lead to a serious neurosis).

THE SUN IS OUR SKIN’S NO. 1 ENEMY. We should always make sun protection a priority. Let us use a sunscreen formulated for our skin along with our moisturizer. Much of the evidence of aging; rough skin, wrinkles, age spots, etc. are really the result of too much sun.

ALARM CLOCK. Let us create precious time for ourselves by setting the alarm clock 30 minutes earlier than usual. Begin rituals for ourselves that will become as important to us as breathing. If we really don’t think that we have enough time during the day, let’s take it from the minutes wasted on phone calls, shopping, or mindless TV surfing.

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