An attempt to revive MCTA? I doubt it

For our special presentation on our talkshow Straight from the Sky, we bring you a very important topic: Cybercrime. Many parents do not realize that their children whom they allow to use computers or even hi-tech cellphones could become innocent victims especially of prowling pedophiles who lure unsuspecting children into cyberporn. Surely by now you already learned about how certain mothers in the town of Cordova make money from cyberporn using their own children. This was a problem Vice Governor Agnes Magpale revealed to me.

Tonight we have with us Chief Inspector Leo S. Dofiles of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) to give us a thorough explanation of what his office does to stop cybercrime because too many parents are just too trusting with their children when they use hitech gadgets. Worst of all, if the parents themselves are not techies, their children can mislead them that they are using these devices for educational purposes.

While we are elated that the PNP has an anti-cybercrime unit, however, Chief Inspector Dofiles admits that his office doesn’t have enough manpower to check out all the places in Metro Cebu. They don’t even have an office in Dumaguete City, which I’m sure has a great need for a PNP-ACG. Perhaps Parent-Teachers Associations should lobby to Congress to increase the budget of the PNP-ACG office because I believe that we could have a cyberporn epidemic in our hands.

So watch this very interesting show on how PNP-ACG under Chief Inspector Dofiles can help you determine if your children are victims of cyberporn on SkyCable’s channel 53 at 8 p.m. with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9 p.m. Monday and at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday.

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When I read the headline last Friday which blared, “Wanted a Traffic Overseer” as suggested by Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza and Talisay City Vice Mayor Alan Bucao, it only reminded me of what we did in the mid-90’s when we held the First Cebu Traffic Summit in 1997. That traffic summit came up with a resolution calling for a single traffic management to handle the Metro Cebu Area. It was dubbed, “The Metro Cebu Traffic Authority (MCTA) which we have endorsed and would have been turned into a law by my good friend, Rep. Raul del Mar.

Unfortunately, 21 years ago, there was a problem. Mayor Tomas Osmeña and his estranged cousin, then senator John “Sonny” Osmeña were not in good terms and if none of them had control over this traffic agency, then they decided not to create MCTA. But remember in 1997 traffic in Metro Cebu wasn’t as bad as it is today. Driving to Mactan was a breezy 30 minutes from downtown Cebu City.

But times have indeed changed and the need for an interagency council on traffic has become a necessity. But then again, knowing how Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña blasted MCTA because he could not control it, I doubt if the agency would even see the light of day.

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THE BLACKBOX: Last Saturday we attended the 50th anniversary of the Lords Group, dubbed “Lords in Motion” at the Ballroom of Casino Español. While many schools or classes are celebrating their 50th anniversaries, they are mostly classmates from the same school and this has been happening a lot already. But the Lords’ anniversary bash was a totally different party.

First of all, the members of the Lords do not belong to one school. They are all friends, but not necessarily classmates and they all gravitate to their “godfather” Horacio “Boy” Franco. So last Friday night’s big bash brought into one place our Cebuano friends, old flames or crushes, girlfriends who are not someone else’s wife and old boyfriends from the ‘60s and ‘70s era.

Seen in the party was actress Chanda Romero who continues to be pretty and still charming. Best of all, we were the Baby Boomer generation who have already started to age. But when the ‘60s music began, the old creaky bones were forgotten and everyone danced the night away. Kudos to the Lords on their 50th anniversary bash that brought “Old Cebuanos” into one big party!

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For email responses to this article, write to vsbobita@gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.