‘Genius?’

Who’s the “genius” behind President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte’s backtracking on his order to do away with face shields, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto asks.

Sotto was sarcastic in calling the people behind the mandatory wearing of face shields over face masks “geniuses.”

They were geniuses at imposing their will on others to make dirty money.

People who take advantage of others during a crisis are vultures, or even worse. Vultures, at least, don’t feast on the living; they only partake of carcasses. The vultures in the Duterte administration cause people misery.

Face shields are a financial burden on the poor, who can hardly afford to buy face masks because most of them are jobless. Besides, wearing a face shield over a face mask is a suffocating experience for many people.
As I pointed out earlier, wearing a face shield over a face mask is ridiculous.

Some people in the Duterte administration were probably earning oodles and oodles of cash from the importation and sale of face shields, I said in this space on June 22.

Sotto echoed my suspicion, saying, “People cannot help but suspect something is wrong somewhere.”

And the suspicion is bolstered by the fact that we’re the only country in the world that requires its citizens to wear a face shield over a face mask.

*      *      *

Sotto and his Senate colleagues may also want to investigate the people behind the importation of Remdesivir, a drug used against COVID-19.

Remdesivir costs P588 in India, where it is manufactured. But when it is used in some hospitals here, Remdesivir costs anywhere from P20,000 to P40,000 per treatment.

There are talks that a brother of a health official and a media man are behind the importation of Remdesivir and Favir, another drug used against the novel coronavirus.

*      *      *

A Cabinet official is abusive towards the security guards in a posh condominium in Makati, where he resides. This Cabinet member would berate guards over small matters like the old elevators not functioning properly, as if the guards had something to do with the maintenance of the lifts.

He once threatened to shoot a security guard for reminding him that he parked his car – one of many – in a slot reserved for another condo resident.

This Cabinet official, who is a lawyer, should be reminded that security guards just follow orders from the building’s management office.

Somebody’s true colors are revealed in the way they treat those below them in status.

Clue: The Cabinet member is from Mindanao.

*      *      *

President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino was a breath of fresh air when he took over from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose administration was graft-ridden.

Unlike GMA, Noynoy had no spouse who interfered in his job. There was nobody sharing his bed to nag him to make money using his powerful office.

Noynoy, who died Thursday of renal disease secondary to diabetes, had a less corrupt administration than the ones preceding his.

For all his shortcomings, he was an honest man.

*      *      *

Noynoy Aquino’s Cabinet was composed of “KKK”: Kaibigan, kaklase at kabarilan – friends, classmates and shooting buddies.

Digong’s Cabinet is also made up of “KKK”: Kaklase, kababayan at kaibigan – classmates, townmates and friends.

There’s nothing wrong with hiring friends or classmates to work for you, but they tend to abuse their positions. There is an old Filipino saying, “only rust destroys iron.” That saying applies to Erap, GMA, Noynoy and Digong.

*           *           *

There might be a change in the political landscape due to Noynoy’s demise.

Filipinos root for the underdog; rightly or wrongly, they tend to sympathize with the immediate family or loved ones of a deceased former leader or supposed martyr.

We saw the assassination of former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino hurling his widow Cory, a plain housewife, into Malacañang. We saw the death of former President Cory Aquino catapulting her son Noynoy, a carefree bachelor, to the highest post of the land.

We saw the return of the Marcos family in the political scene, with the death of deposed President Ferdinand Marcos. Filipinos easily forgive and forget.
We saw Leni Robredo elected as Vice President because of the untimely demise of her husband, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

The Yellow opposition, trounced in the midterm election of 2019, might just be resurrected to carry the victory banner. We’ll never know until the last vote is counted in the 2022 elections.

*      *      *

President Digong, who was critical of Noynoy, declared a 10-day period of national mourning over the passing of his immediate predecessor.

His spokesman, Harry Roque, called on Filipinos to set aside their differences, to honor the late leader.

Now, if that’s not magnanimity on the part of Digong, I don’t know what is.

*      *      *

The 13-year-old daughter of an Indonesian couple, who blew themselves up inside the Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo in 2019, was “rescued” after a firefight between government troops and Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

Was she rescued or captured? Which is which?

The minor, who’s married to a full-fledged Abu Sayyaf member, has a brother who is also being groomed as a suicide bomber, according to intelligence reports.

Her husband, who was being served an arrest warrant, escaped.

Although she’s a minor, the 13-year-old girl should be treated as a prisoner of war, albeit humanely.

She’s a potential suicide bomber, as she’s been brainwashed to kill in the name of her religion.