Good advice

Whoever advised President Digong Duterte to withdraw from the senatorial race did him a service.

The adviser was right: Digong would be remembered as a statesman for withdrawing from the senatorial contest.

As a statesman, Mr. Duterte would give counsel to his successors who sought it.

His successors would benefit from his experience if they so desire. His wisdom due to age and experience would be sought out.

If he insisted on running for the Senate after holding the highest office of the land, Digong would just be another face in the 24-member legislative body.

And he would expose himself to criticism and ridicule from his Senate colleagues during interpellations.

*      *      *

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is being besieged from all sides because of the accusation by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin that Duque again “dropped the ball” on the offer of 50 million syringes from the United States.

In December last year, Locsin claimed in a tweet that “somebody dropped the ball” on the plan to secure 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccine.

This is Locsin’s latest accusation against Duque for allegedly messing up in the purchase of COVID-19 medications from the US.

Duque vehemently denies that he flubbed in procuring vaccine syringes, saying that they were more expensive than the 4.7 cents (P2.39) offered by rival companies.

“No one on the planet makes special PFIZER LOW END VOLUME SYRINGES that cheap; 7 cents is the absolute lowest. UNICEF pays double. Make all purchases public,” the foreign secretary said in his tweet.

“Tweet lang ng tweet ito, hindi man lang ako tawagan (He keeps tweeting, he doesn’t even call me),” the health chief said.

Duque’s defense of himself is flimsy; he said that the Government Procurement Reform Act did not allow him to follow the price that the supplier wanted.

Senate President and vice-presidential aspirant Tito Sotto butted in and sided with the foreign secretary.

Sotto recalled that government officials gave a different line during the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s ongoing probe on allegedly irregular procurement of medical items from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

“Didn’t they say back then that the Procurement Law was not important because of the pandemic?” Sotto said.

The Senate president added on his Twitter post, “They don’t want to violate the Procurement Law? That should have been also the reason for the Pharmally procurement. Amazing!”

It seems Duque is being left alone by his co-conspirators to fend for himself from accusations that he is not only inefficient, but a clueless health secretary, as well.

As in the past, Duque is expected to cling to his position like barnacles to a ship.

*      *      *

The Philippine Eagle, once called the “monkey-eating eagle,” has been enshrined in the new P1,000 bill, replacing World War II martyrs Josefa Escoda, Vicente Lim and Jose Abad Santos.

The big bird is indigenous to the mountains of Mindanao, especially Davao.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) officials possibly think that by featuring the Mindanao bird in the new P1,000 bill, they would please President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte no end, who is from Davao.

By doing so, BSP officials have not only demeaned the country’s central bank but our currency as well.

*      *      *

Finance Secretary Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez thanks this columnist for being responsible for Philippine Shell Petroleum Corp. being forced to pay P3.9 billion to the government.

Shell, however, is paying “under protest.”

The amount represents excise taxes and VAT on fuel blending components used in Shell’s refinery from 2014 till 2020 to the Bureau of Customs.

“Thank you for exposing Shell’s non-payment of (excise) taxes. Your column was effective in making Shell pay up (or words to that effect),” Dominguez told this columnist in a zoom meeting.

A former customs official, John Tan, however, said that Shell should have paid P141 billion in taxes, surcharge, penalties and interest representing the entire amount it owes the government.

Tan, now retired, was the Batangas customs port collector who exposed Shell’s alleged tax evasion in importing blending components for fuel from 2014 to 2020.

If Shell paid the government under protest, it should have paid the whole amount (141 billion), according to Tan.

If Shell wins in the protest filed with the Court of Tax Appeals, then it can get back the entire amount or part of it, Tan said.

The customs bureau, Tan said, should have insisted on having Shell pay the entire amount “under protest.”

*      *      *

Here’s an anecdote about Dr. Howard Kelly (1858-1943), a famous OB/Gyn and oncologist in his time, that would warm the cockles of your heart in this season of giving.

As a poor boy selling goods door-to-door, Howard was hungry, but had only a dime left.

Little Howard decided to ask for a meal from the next house.

He lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. The girl thought he was hungry and so gave him a large glass of milk.

“How much do I owe you?” Howard asked the girl.

“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied, “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for being kind.”

Years later, Dr. Kelly was asked to treat a woman suffering from a rare disease.

Kelly recognized the woman: she was the girl that gave him a glass of milk.

Kelly cured the woman of her rare disease.

Handed the medical bill, the woman feared to open it for she was sure the amount would be astronomical.

On the side of the bill was this message: “Paid in full, with one glass of milk.”