The hope for a genuine peace looms!

For our special presentation on Straight from the Sky, we bring you a thorough discussion on the war against illegal drugs as it is a war that we Filipinos must all fight together to ensure that this scourge in Philippine society doesn’t threaten the extinction of our families. If you recall, the Blessed Virgin Mary predicted that the final battle on the good versus evil would be fought against families and life and definitely this war has affected many families and resulted in the loss of many lives.

Tonight we have with us our dear friend, Fr. Carmelo O. Diola, founder of the Dilaab Movement who has been fighting corruption for a long time now. Fr. Diola said that the war against illegal drugs has the same effect as that of super typhoon Yolanda. Not many of us realize that the Philippines for the last six-years under the ill-fated leadership of then Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino has become a narco state because of six years of total denial by the Aquino Regime, which made many high ranking policemen become protectors of drug lords.

This is why I found it nauseating that the Senate investigation on the so-called extra judicial killings (EJK) is being led by Senator Leila De Lima who was Secretary of Justice (DoJ) during the Aquino Regime. It came to a point that she carelessly forgot that one of the witnesses she introduced in the Senate hearing was a woman whose father was killed only last June 20th when she was still DoJ Secretary! This woman has no shame at all! She is after all, the face of Daang Matuwid that the Filipino voter shunned during the May elections!

So watch this show with Fr. Diola on our war against drugs on SkyCable’s channel 53 at 8:00PM tonight with replays on Wednesday and Saturday. We also have replays on MyTV channel 30 at 9:00PM tonight and at 7:00AM and 9:00PM respectively on Wednesday and Friday.

*** LastSaturday’sheadlineinThePhilippineStarblared“Gov’t, NDF Forge Deal for Indefinite Truce” is a headline that I never thought that someday I would be reading. I just celebrated (although quietly) my 30 years as a journalist and when I started writing, early on I was already anti-communist, thanks to my training at the University of San Carlos when we took our Reserve Officers Training Corps courses.

If it took me some time to give my all out support to then Mayor Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte, it was due to the fact that I was very uncomfortable seeing him close to the Communist Party of the Philippines. But it was former President Fidel V. Ramos whom I had dinner a few months before the May elections (it was hosted by former DOTC Secretary Jesus “Sonny” Garcia) who assured me that Duterte was no communist when I gave my full support to Mayor Duterte during the Presidential campaign. The rest is history and I had a hunch that his closeness to the CPP would be put to good use and now this has resulted in an indefinite truce with the Reds.

I’m sure that the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines under Jose Maria Sison and the National Democratic Front under Luis Jalandoni are thinking of their own futures… in their old age. If they don’t forge a peace agreement now under Pres. Duterte, there could be a new set of younger Communist leaders who could take their place.

Just a few days ago, the Colombian government announced that they have forged a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia or (FARC), which puts an end (they have been fighting for 50 years already) to the longest insurgency in the Americas. This deal was signed in Havana, Cuba and their peace talks can be used by our government panel and the CPP as a way to find solutions to our insurgency problem.

We hope and pray that the peace talks in Oslo would result in peace for our country so that finally we will have a real and genuine peace in our countryside and the dividends of peace would mean so many positive things for the Filipino people who live in the far-flung areas. Just on the tourism alone will be a big boon to the economy in the countryside.

*** In another piece of good news, we learned that the Regional Trial Court has confirmed that the City of Cebu is the real owner of Fuente Osmeña, something that we knew from the start. This became a legal battle between the Province of Cebu and Cebu City, which is why the RTC settled this issue once and for all.

But the most important part of this news is when Governor Hilario “Jun Jun” Davide, III pointed out that he would ask the Provincial Legal Office not to file any motion for reconsideration on this decision for as long as this famous landmark is opened to the public. Kudos to you Gov. Jun Jun for making the right decision, after all the Fuente Osmeña belongs to all Cebuanos whether you come from Cebu City or the Province of Cebu!