A House whitewash committee clears Naguiat?

This only happens once every four years that there is a February 29, so allow me to greet a very Happy Birthday to Atty. Eduardo “Tio Eddy” Rosello who turns 19-years old today, after all, he can celebrate his birthday only once every four years. But this doesn’t stop him from counting his real age of 76-years. Yes, it is always a great celebration when it is Tio Eddy’s birthday. That means we’ll be drinking tonight! While we’re acknowledging birthdays, allow me also to greet my brother, Archt. Bing Avila, on his 62nd birthday tomorrow March 1. May the good Lord always bless and keep you guys.

*** As if on cue from Malacañang, rabid yellow congressmen voted to ban American business gambling magnate Steve Wynn from conducting business in the Philippines because he insulted the country stating that corruption is endemic in the country… Wow! Are these people living in dreamland? Why should Mr. Wynn be banned for telling the truth, while allowing Mr. Kazuo Okada, the man who allegedly bribed Pagcor officials, to continue doing business in this country?

Mind you, no one yet knows who are the guilty parties in this controversy, after all, the investigation and in last Monday’s hearing by the House Committee on Games and Amusement, Chairman Rep. Amado Bagatsing said that the Pagcor chairman Cristino Naguiat “is a mere victim” in this boardroom brawl between Steve Wynn and Kazue Okada. I think Congress should rename that House committee the Committee on Whitewash for they made those decisions and cleared Naguiat’s name without any investigation.

But then this is the reality under the Aquino Regime, where even Pres. Benigno “Pnoy” Aquino, III believes that hearsay is a valid evidence under a political dimension. This President has now twisted even the Rules of Court and his loyal sycophants bow to him and sing their “Hosanna” to the Boy King!

As Rep. Bagatsing said, “We have something to do with this dispute because the Philippines is being pictured by Wynn as corrupt that’s why he sued Okada for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, therefore, we are being dragged as a country also.” Hellooow! Doesn’t Congress realize that the Philippine government is known worldwide as one of the most corrupt governments in the world? These Congressmen are losing even simple logic.

I just quoted from the Bible in my Star column yesterday in reference to Pnoy’s flip-flopping attitude towards Justice, so allow me to once more quote this Bible passage from Matthew 13:12, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

If I have no respect for many of our congressmen, it is only their own fault. A case in point is when Rep. Aurelio Gonzales, Jr. filed House Resolution No. 2140 appealing to the local television and movie industry to “minimize,” prevent, or stop typecasting congressmen and congresswomen as villains or crooks in movies and television telenovelas, in order not to create stereotypes or negative public perception against members of the House.

I find this resolution self-serving and downright stupid. If Congress wants to change their image, then they must start this change from within themselves and act as true and honorable men and women who represent their constituents. But then the opposite is today’s reality.

*** I have always maintained that the May 10, 2010 elections were marred by digitalized cheating. The group dubbed Tanggulang Demokrasya has already collated more than enough evidence of how the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines operated by Smartmatic was a massive electoral failure. It is almost two years now (19 months to be exact) that the Municipality of Compostela still has no Mayor and Municipal Council.

What gets me is that, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has to do a recount in Manila. Why should this be done in Manila, when any recount should be done before the eye of the voters in Compostela, which does not have a huge population. Perhaps a bigger question should be why is the Comelec taking so long, denying the people of Compostela their duly elected public officials.

I don’t blame former Compostela Mayor Richie Wagas for opposing the Comelec move in doing a re-canvass of the election returns because he believes that these ballots may be fake. The former mayor reminded the Comelec of its Jan. 12, 2011 order that the Election Returns (ER) should be authenticated first before they should be canvassed. Comelec doesn’t seem to care if they dilly-dally in solving this electoral issue.

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