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Treating the new developments on the ZTE-NBN controversy in relation to the Supreme Court decision that grants former socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri his bid not to answer queries on his conversation with his boss, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, should not serve as a hindrance for the public to know what’s right and wrong. In the first place, the public perception is that resolving such an issue with a “yes” or “no” answer should not have taken place since it already dealt with the issue of compromising justice and truth.
Coming from the highest court in the land, such decision is, hence, assailable from the start. Those justices (appointed by GMA) who voted in of favor Neri’s desire in effect only explained how justice had been tailored to serve an individual’s interest.
It is, however, important to know the opinions of dissenting justices, among them Chief Justice Reynato Puno. Showing prudence, Puno simply opined that the Senate would be hampered in fulfilling its responsibilities if it failed to get the information it was seeking from Neri, which, Puno said, was why he should be compelled to answer the three questions – whether GMA followed up on the NBN deal, whether Neri was dictated to prioritize the project, and whether Ms. Arroyo gave the go-ahead to Neri to approve the deal in spite of the alleged bribery.
In other words, the truth is there, but there’s no way for it to come out.
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With more development projects on hand, the prospect of making Lapulapu City a much better place to live isn’t far-off. Other places on the historic Mactan Island will certainly benefit from the momentum.
Soon to add color to the already bourgeoning island that speaks of an international airport, export processing zones, world-class resorts and popular products like guitars (I have yet to hear from the government about programs to boost food production – fishing particularly) are the ambitious commercial projects envisioned by real-estate giants. Among these are the commercial projects of Amisa Real Estate Development of Robinson Lands and the 500-room five-star hotel soon to be put up by a foreign investor. These, in effect, will put Lapulapu City on the verge of exponential growth, making it the sunniest side of Cebu.
All the sweet words for Lapulapu (my journalist friend Lorie de la Serna, a true-blooded Lapuhanon, insists that this should be the correct spelling, not “Lapu-Lapu”) and the whole island of Mactan may, however, just amount to nothing with the ongoing conflict between some local businessmen and politicians.
I thought the natives had been through with their fight against a common enemy, a foreign invader named Magellan. And whatever happened to the effort exerted by my friend, Secretary Cerge Remonde, to put an end to the wrangling?
And talking of conflict, probably many of our budding journalists weren’t born yet or still in their tender ages when some of us in the industry responded to an intense divergence between the original land owners and government representatives over the government’s plan to convert the land into what is now called Mactan Export Processing Zone. We were not only chronicling the event but functioned as “peace negotiators” as well, counseling the small land owners about the good intention of the government and the benefits they would enjoy.
Our effort paid off, and the land owners eventually submitted to peaceful negotiation – in effect hastening the process of acquiring the land through expropriation. It’s water under the bridge, but I don’t see any reason why those people involved in the ongoing conflict wouldn’t submit to the same process to end the controversy.
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Let me congratulate all graduates (in all levels), together with their parents, for their persevering efforts in making their dreams come true.
It’s impossible to mention all of them. Nevertheless, let me greet Marianne Laurice Abejo Bitang, who graduated yesterday from the University of San Carlos High School with honors. Marianne is this year’s recipient of the coveted Blessed Maria Helena Stollenwerk Leadership Award and the youngest child of proud parents, photojournalist Mario Bitang of Banat (formerly with Reuters and Sun Star Cebu) and Luz Abejo, Gaisano Metro senior operations manager.
Congratulations also to Anthony Dapin, son of proud mom Enriqueta (“Nene”) and dad Sabino (deceased), for passing the Medical Technology Licensure Examination. Godspeed.
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I was invited to attend the Globe Telecom annual stockholders’ meeting in Makati City on April 1. This is not new to me as I’ve been attending Ayala-hosted affairs since I was still in the broadcast industry. I take this occasion as a golden opportunity to interact with the investors as a journalist and among the millions of subscribers to the company’s products and services.
With the unprecedented surge of public interest in the access to modern communications, journalists have a main role to play in discussing concerns that positively affect both the public and the industry.
