Hit the ground running
Okay. It is now 2015. Time to hit the ground running. The holidays are over, at least for most of us. The first quarter of the year always seems to be the hardest, as some are still hung over from the festivities of December. The bills from the previous month start to come in, bringing a rude awakening to all of us. And then there are the looming tuition fees for those with children still at school. Indeed, the first quarter is sometimes considered the "hell week" of life.
But there is something to look forward to this month as well. The Holy Father is arriving on January 15-19. Preparations have been made months in advance for his visit, which includes a trip to Tacloban to visit Yolanda survivors. Pope Francis will have lunch with some very fortunate children. Hopefully, no politician from any party will spoil the event. But knowing the temerity of some, it is not far-fetched that a selfie of some sort will be thrust upon the Pope. Knowing the Pope, he does not turn these down. We will have to see just how effective the Pope's cordon sanitaire works.
On another issue, The Bangko Sentral has announced that the older series peso bills will start to be phased out for the whole year. This would be the peso bills with the smaller numbers and dull colors. They have given the whole of 2015 to turn over these bills. By next year, the series will be completely demonetized, meaning they will no longer have any value. So if you still have the older series, I suggest you deposit them in banks, or use them to pay for bills and the like. I'm sure the money launderers are scrambling to get rid of the older notes without drawing attention to themselves.
We seem to enjoy demonetizing currency a lot. The peso bill has undergone so many changes, along with its coins. As a comparison, the United States has never demonetized any of its currency. This means a ten-cent coin minted in the 1800s will still be accepted as a ten-cent coin today. Of course, you wouldn't spend it as a ten-cent coin as its collective value has gone way up. It just shows that nothing has been demonetized, and they have no plans to do so.
As for the National Bilibid Prison, or what some are calling "Club Paradise", I hope the purge continues until it truly becomes the prison it was meant to be. Four officials of the NBP have been sacked by the DOJ, but why stop there? All the guards, even the administrative staff must all be sacked, then those with proven unblemished records returned, if they wish. Even its current director must be sacked. The buck stops here, remember? I also hope serious thought is being given to transferring the NBP somewhere else. It really cannot continue operating near Metro Manila. It has to be isolated, just like most prisons around the world are. Its proximity to the Metro only brings so many opportunities for VIP criminals.
So here's to a much better year ahead. No more resolutions as they don't seem to succeed anyway. Just good, hard work. Now that's a promise worth keeping.
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