By Herbert Vego THE idiom as originally intended reminds us of the ongoing conflict between the local government of Iloilo City and the defunct power distributor, Panay Electric Company (PECO). It warns of ominous defeat against the city’s bureaucracy. The city’s legal head, Atty. Edgardo Gil, has warned PECO to pay its overdue franchise taxes
June 21, 2021
By Herbert Vego TOMORROW marks the 160th birth anniversary of our late national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, who was born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna. History books hail him not just as the national hero but also as “the pride of the Malay race,” reminding us that our forebears had descended largely from Malaysian,
June 18, 2021
By Herbert Vego UNLESS he has changed his mind. Mayor Jerry Treñas will reopen business establishments in Iloilo City today, although with restrictions – as in limiting restaurant capacity to 30 or 50 percent. As in many other places hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, Iloilo City has been playing “close-open” for 15 months already
June 16, 2021
By Herbert L. Vego IT was not Covid-19 that forced Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas to be hospitalized. He attributed it to “exhaustion,” or perhaps also frustration over the rise of Covid-19 cases in his turf. As of yesterday, the city had 2,532 active cases, raising to 9,279 the total number of accumulated cases in 15
June 14, 2021
By Herbert Vego ONLY last May, this corner covered the win of Ilonggo entrepreneur Victor Martin J. Soriano in a legal battle against a royal couple — Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle of the United Kingdom (UK). “Case dismissed” was how the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPO) in Taguig City junked the petition of
June 11, 2021
By Herbert Vego HATS off to a fellow Ilonggo — retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza — who is now independent director of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power). As such, he is an investor (with no more than two percent shares of stocks) representing the utility’s customers. Jardeleza was one of my
June 9, 2021
By Herbert Vego COVID-19 is no respecter of the rich and famous, as we found out anew yesterday on learning that the disease had killed Gideon “Ike” Patricio — former mayor of Pilar, Capiz – while confined in a Roxas City hospital for 10 days. As of yesterday, based on the Covid “worldometer” released online
June 7, 2021
By Herbert L. Vego AS tropical storm Dante was pouring rain the other day, I remembered my stormy ordeal on the way to church to say “I do”. Retelling that experience here could be my act of penance and a lesson for today’s marriageable youth. Forty-nine years ago, I was a starry-eyed 22-year-young bachelor who
June 4, 2021
By Herbert Vego COVID is real, we are often reminded. The coronavirus is not as funny as the cartoon characters in “Scooby-Doo.” Unfortunately, its repetitious stress in the media for being incurable also leads to stress of a different kind – one which makes us fear of impending death. Indeed, during the 12 days of
June 2, 2021
By Herbert Vego NOW “showing” in Congress is Bayanihan 3. The third “Bayanihan to Arise as One” bill is aimed at cushioning the economic and social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. By now, the final House of Representatives’ version (House Bill No. 9411) must have hurdled third and final reading. Will the final Senate version of
May 31, 2021
By Herbert Vego HE seems to be leaning in the direction he had previously mocked – that the coronavirus was genetically manipulated and mass-produced in a government lab in Wuhan, China, just short of calling its global spread “intentional”. Not much has been reported about it in the local media. But the turnaround of Dr.
May 28, 2021
By Herbert Vego REMEMBER when this writer first wrote about the unusual case of a royal couple — Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle of the United Kingdom (UK) – engaging Ilonggo entrepreneur Victor Martin J. Soriano in a legal battle over copyright? Using this space, I expressed disbelief that Prince Harry and his
May 26, 2021