People who live in glass houses shouldn’t…

I’m slated to be in Manila today for the 35th anniversary of the SKAL International Tourism Personality Awards to be held tomorrow 6 p.m. at the New World Hotel. This Tourism Award focuses on individuals who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields and contributed immensely to the growth of Philippine tourism.

According to New World Makati Hotel General Manager and Committee Chairman of the SKAL Awards, Farid Schoucair, the SKAL Awards is held with the cooperation of the Department of Tourism, Philippine Airlines (PAL), Turkish Airlines, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), the Rotary Club of Manila, New World Hotel, Meteor Philippines and Ralph’s Wines and Spirits.

This year’s awardees are led by Dr. Andrew Tan, chairman and president of Megaworld Corp., Jaime Bautista President of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Skalleague of the Year goes to Michael Cosiquien Chairman and CEO of Megawide Construction for the development of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MICA) and Mr. Erhan Balaban Country Manager of Turkish Airlines to name a few.

Yes this writer has also been recognized by SKAL for our Media Advocacy category and it comes at a defining moment for me as on August 25th, it will be officially my 30th year as a member of the Philippine STAR as clearly indicated in my first press card. However, unfortunately, I’m due for a kidney transplant very soon and my doctors do not want me to travel away from Cebu as I’m on the matching stage with my donors. So kudos to Sir Bobby Joseph and his Skalleagues on your 35th anniversary! More power!

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There is an old adage, which goes, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” This is a phrase that Sen. Leila de Lima who was for the last six-years our Secretary of Justice should have known by heart. When Pres. Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte openly accused her of immorality with her bodyguard and driver… he wasn’t even the first to accuse Sen. De Lima of immorality. Apparently, Sandra Cam, the president of the Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines exposed her illicit affair with one Cesar Mancao and her driver, Ronnie Dayan.

I read in my Facebook an Inquirer report, which was published on June 4, 2014 and presented to the Commission on Appointments (CA) to oppose De Lima’s confirmation. However, those were the years when the Yellow media had control over many media outlets and this revealing news was never spread far and wide and soon forgotten, only to be revived by Pres. Duterte who rammed home the point that De Lima’s immorality with her married driver is linked to the illegal drug trade in the Bilibid Prison.

Then the unexpected happened when we read in The Philippine STAR last Saturday that there were “Snippets of truth” in the accusations hurled against her by the President when in an ambush interview when Sen. De Lima said, “What I am seeing now is that the people do not know what is the truth and what is not. Are these the truth or lies? But this what I can tell you. We’ve seen some snippets of facts; snippets of truths, but the bulk of it are distortions, exaggerations, and lies. Foremost of the lies, is yung sinasabing na may nangongolekta para sa akin sa Bilibid (that someone was collecting on my behalf at the New Bilibid Prison). That is an absolute lie.” So what’s the truth?

Then like a lovesick lover, Senator Leila de Lima went out of her way to appeal for the life of her former bodyguard and driver, Ronnie Dayan whom she said was the subject of a manhunt to pin down his former boss. But if he is running away from the immorality tag… the game is already over, buking na sila! In short there is no more reason to hide.

But then there is his possible link with illegal drugs… and only when he surfaces and surrenders can we hear his side of the story. So if Sen. De Lima has some delicadeza left… she should encourage her lover to face the media and the public rather than ran away from the law. For sure, this is not the end of this story. Pres. Duterte has openly declared that he wishes to revisit the Janet Lim Napoles case, as it is a beehive of corrupt public officials, including Sen. De Lima. This is certainly something worth waiting for!

Finally, still on Pres. Duterte, he just took on the United Nations (UN) and I don’t blame him. This organization that was created after the collapse of the League of Nations has only proven to be inutile in solving the world’s problems. Just to name a few, the Korean Peninsula conflict today has never been resolved and the Palestinian question has never been answered. Lately when Russia annexed the Crimea… the UN did nothing. Perhaps we should ask UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon what it is doing to stop China’s belligerent attitude to the Philippines? Let’s wait for his answer to this query!

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