Enablers and disablers
when the environment is degraded and natural resources exploited by greed. His tough stance against open-pit waste disposal and indiscriminate logging and mining is well-known but met with silly resistance by left-leaning groups addicted to revolutionary taxes. Some labor groups have even labeled his policy as anti-poor.
Human rights activists even promote “softness” on drug users as the preferred mode to counter addiction, ignoring the fact that drug lords continue to thrive due to an increasing demand by these users who are more than willing to be mules to satisfy their need for free.
Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
who decided to fast-track and approve much needed and timely bills to alleviate poverty and cut corners to jumpstart economic reforms needed to stabilize commerce to insure our chances of a
Yet, her detractors crooned “political ambition” as her veiled motive for her desire to uplift the plight of our less fortunate citizenry.
Distributing promised land titles, reviving Ro-Ro projects all over the country, earmarking additional budget for health, expansion of transportation discounts for students and seniors, securing the success of the BOL by embarking on trade missions, focusing on major legislative projects that will further strengthen Visayas and Mindanao while empowering Luzon with a streamlined program of sustainability.
With much frequency, Speaker Arroyo visited various communities to check on their condition amidst heavy workloads to see to it that the budget is not just allocated but correctly spent. And critics dismiss these as purely “political.” These are the same people who snoozed for six years to the tune of their “special” lullabies.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd
Here is one hardworking doctor whose baptism of fire was the killer issue we now call Dengvaxia. He knew he was confronting an “Incredible Hulk” of a problem but remained undaunted against a backdrop of mistrust created by his predecessor. He discovered a department ridden with graft, coerced by the previous hierarchy of looters. Funding for fictitious barangay health centers, misspent and juggled budgets, expiring medicines, and uncooperative LGUs were among the worries he inherited.
As if these were not enough, he is now facing a hailstorm of a well-oiled propaganda machine and surprisingly even coming from a fellow public servant who downfall. A “persistent accost” (Did I give a clue?) to his integrity is well-known and lapped up by the media. “Breakouts” are mislabeled as “epidemics” to further aggravate an already scared public. Being a Surgeon General, these are the headaches that are threatening to be hazardous to his health.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu
This former general knows how to do it and do it well. On top of his plate now is the rehabilitation of a body of water noted for battles and golden sunsets. As a battle-scarred soldier, he is trained to obey orders with accurate execution. He closed Boracay for six months and turned it upside down amidst howling and misinformed critics. Now a renewed prime destination, Boracay gleams like a South Sea pearl from the air. He did not stop. He has trained his sights on the other attractions like Coron, El Nido, Baguio and Bohol, among others.
Disablers shouted “militarization” and “heartless” approach resulting in unemployment, but this general is not accustomed to blinking. He is now facing the “Battle of Manila Bay,” brandishing his sword against all violators. Some wanted him to stop the rehabilitation with some stupid reasons that I cannot recall. He everyone to complete the job.
Some very creative minds suspected that various reclamation projects are in the pipeline.
He said that the ongoing Manila Bay rehabilitation is not a prelude to any land reclamation initiative. To those suspicious minds, please take a listen. Cimatu is only there to clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay. Period.
It is sad that most of us just react instinctively and don’t think too much about the total scene. We should look at the structure and not the subject. This sort of surreal detachment is like monochromatic photography. The emotional impact of color is not present, and one feels a bit colder or separated from the scene. An observer rather than a participant.
Good work, good deeds and good faith to all.