By Herbert Vego
WHAT has Pastor Apollo Quiboloy accomplished by “red-tagging” Sen. Loren Legarda in one of his radio-TV broadcasts?
Nothing; he has zero credibility. He is a “KSP” or a “trying hard” for being “kulang sa pansin”.
Since he is not worth quoting, I will not quote him. But if you happened to hear him on the air, certainly you heard him refer to the lady senator as an ally of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
Quiboloy cited Legarda’s privilege speech in the Senate last Tuesday, where she called for a review of the Anti-Terror Law. What’s wrong with calling for a review?
Legarda was alarmed by the arrest and detention of Adora de Vera – a sister of Commission on Higher Education chairman Prospero de Vera – on mere suspicion of being a high-ranking official of the CPP.
Adora, now 66, survived rape and torture during the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. She was taken into custody by the Quezon City police on Aug. 24.
As Senate President Pro Tempore, Sen. Loren Legarda slammed a colleague’s proposal to require government officials to disclose family relations with anyone red-tagged.
Senator Francis Tolentino had asked De Vera to declare whether he has a relative who is a member of the NPA.
Legarda said, “I do not recall what law or what pronouncement of government has declared the CPP or similar organizations, movements, beliefs, associations could be declared as what – enemies of the state? It’s so difficult to identify that. When, if we see and study what they actually believe in, it is social justice!”
Quiboloy, who calls himself “appointed Son of God” – in that sense replacing Jesus Christ – should have commended Loren for her stand against the Anti-Terrorism Act or 2022 (RA 11479) which criminalizes an ambiguous new offense: the incitement of terrorism “by means of speeches, proclamations, writings, emblems, banners or other representations.”
Section 29 of the law authorizes law enforcement to arrest and detain, without a warrant and for fourteen to twenty-four days, anyone suspected of any terrorism offense.
It disappoints us – no doubt including Legarda – that the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the validity of the law except for two “unconstitutional” provisions — a portion of Section 4 and a portion of Section 25.
Section 4 vaguely states that terrorism is committed by any person who engages in acts “which are intended to cause death or serious physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s life, or to create a serious risk to public safety.”
Section 25 favorably responds to requests by foreign agencies or bodies to designate persons and organizations as terrorists.
In fact, no less that former Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra once declared that “mere membership in the CPP is not a crime unless overt criminal acts are committed.”
Guevarra recalled that the Anti-Subversion Law of 1957, which had declared the CPP as illegal and made membership in it punishable by up to 12 years in prison, was repealed in 1992 while then President Fidel Ramos was embarking on a peace process with the communist guerrillas.
Ramos said, “By assuring communist insurgents of political space, we also challenge them to compete under our constitutional system and free market of ideas – which are guaranteed by the rule of law.”
So, if Quiboloy wants to appear nationalistic, why should he not red-tag Pres. BBM instead for calling Communist China “our strongest partner”?
-oOo-
HOW DOES MORE POWER FIGHT INFLATION?
As the power-distribution utility charging the lowest bill per kilowatt-hour, MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) is saddled with the problem of how to preserve that reputation in the wake of monetary inflation.
Its president and chief executive officer, Sir Roel Z. Castro, has time and again declared, “I would always strive to maintain the lowest possible price.”
However, there are forces beyond control. One of them is the fact that it could not “dive” lower than the company can afford. It does not produce power but buys it from generating utilities, and also pays the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) for transmission of power.
Anyway, because of its high-tech monitoring of fluctuating energy prices nationwide, MORE Power is capable of buying the least expensive electricity through a system known as the competitive selection process (CSP) through a public bidding for the procurement of its power supply requirements. By this process, pre-qualified power suppliers offer competitive prices that vary according to demand.
For example, submission of the expression of interest documents for delivery of a 20-megawatt power on September 26, 2022 has been accomplished.
Iloilo City’s power distribution network has an initial P1.9-billion investment for modernization. Much more will be appropriated in line with its expansion to Passi City and 15 towns of the 2nd and 4th districts of Iloilo province.
The rehabilitation and upgrading of old substations acquired from the previous distribution utility have been accomplished.
The modernization program also enabled MORE Power to minimize system’s loss through illegal connections, thus reducing overloading and billing cost.
Consumer complaints are now quickly addressed with response time reduced to between 10 and 15 minutes.
