Not only did the Philippines win the championship of the Southeast Asian Games and produced 387 medals in the process, it also produced a hero in Roger Casugay who abandoned his quest for the surfing gold by stopping to help a fellow contestant from Indonesia who had gotten loose and almost drowned. For that, he got grateful acknowledgement not only from the delegation, but from the Indonesian President as well. That shows that our athletes are not only talented, but gallant as well.
***
Well, the glow of the gold medals will shine for a long time, but the monetary prizes to be given to the winners will surely add to the happiness and pride of their families. I am sure stories like those will be further incentives for other talented sportsmen and women to strive to get into the games wherever they are held. But let us hope that their officials make sure that they all get the same quality of training that they underwent for the recently ended SEAG to ensure that this one was not just a fluke.
***
Even if I am not sure where Timor Leste is, I sympathized with its athletes for not getting any medal several days after the games began. But, at least they did not go home empty-handed, they did get six in their bag when they left – one silver and six bronzes. At least nobody got zero, and who knows? Timor Leste may spring a surprise in the next encounters. As of now the participating athletes must be looking forward already to the next edition of the SEAG, and the rest must be focusing their preparations on the Philippine delegation.
***
All right, everybody agrees that the games were successful, but it was not very pleasant to hear Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano himself gushing over its success, being the chairman. He could have waited for others – columnists, and his fellow congressmen – to praise his efforts, instead of himself exulting about it and saying that the country made history because participants (not identified) lauded it as the “biggest and grandest edition so far”. Apparently modesty is not his main virtue. What about the start of the games, was it the grandest too?
***
So it’s no longer a joking matter, Democrats have become very serious about their move to impeach President Donald Trump. What they are poised to file against him are charges for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. While Trump appears to be belittling the chances of their success, he must be bothered all the same even if he is relying on the Senate that has more Republicans. It is the Lower House where there is Nancy Pelosi as Speaker, who is in the forefront of the moves to impeach him. If the movers prevail, he will become only the third American president to suffer that fate.
***
Now people who want to stay in the United States but are not supposed to be qualified have found another means of justifying their stay. They can claim that they are being persecuted by the Administration and voila! a sympathetic judge might just grant them asylum. Such a case was reported recently and I bet a lot of Pinoys looking for some justification for their plan to immigrate, could just “invite” persecution, and get a good lawyer to help them get in. That simple?
***
Of course Malacañang was quick to deny that no persecution of critics is happening here. If anyone will point out the recent statement of the President that he will not sign the renewal of the franchise of the media entity, the very popular ABS-CBN, well, we will soon know whether he really means it, because the year is ending and renewal of such franchises will take place. Did he really mean it or has the media mogul taken steps to mollify him? We will know by year’s end.
***
It is clear that Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is not the fair-haired boy of the Senate. To some of the members, he must be considered the fly in the ointment or the worm in the apple. That is because he continues to expose what others may consider a windfall for them as they prepare for re-election, or other projects that could assure it. His latest revelation that P83 BILLION for pork barrel had been inserted in its budget at the last minute, will surely not endear him to the rest, but it seems as if he doesn’t care, either for the money he may also be entitled to, or the dagger looks others may throw his way. Ah, but there is only one Ping Lacson there, and that’s how unlucky we are.*
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2019/December/13/twinkling.htm
