Prayers against Ruby

This week, we face another challenge especially for us in the Visayas, with  the threat of typhoon Ruby.

Needless to say, our people have learned lessons from the experience with last year’s supertyphoon Yolanda. This is why  people are  frantically preparing for this next storm.

As early as Tuesday,  radio stations were discussing  the path of the typhoon, what to do and not to do when it  crosses the country.

Today, what I read in  social media posts are mostly prayers asking the Lord  to spare us  from another typhoon.  I join everyone in praying to the Father. May  He bless us and spare the  country from  another devastation.

I enjoin all readers to earnestly prepare themselves and their families for the impact  of the typhoon by securing  things that we may need when,  and after the typhoon hits.

Please do not be complacent. There  is no substitute for preparing  for any eventuality. I am happy that the local governments this early  have activated their disaster preparedness councils and alerted their communities,  especially those staying near the sea and along the rivers, to move to safer areas to prevent casualties.

I encourage everyone to listen to  radio broadcasts for weather updates  and instructions from the authorities, such as  where to coordinate or ask for help if needed.

Finally, let us storm the heavens with prayers that the Lord God spare us  from another typhoon and to protect all of us from evil and danger.

* * *

I don’t think it is right for the Blue Ribbon Committee investigating the alleged overpricing of the Iloilo Convention Center to ruminate on the hearing after just one session.

They  must exhaust all means to find out the truth, just like what they are doing with issues  against Vice President Binay.

One can observe that during the committee hearing on the convention center, the senators especially Trillanes and Cayetano, were very kind and courteous to their fellow Sen. Franklin Drilon. They never made sweeping statements or conclusions, unlike the way they treated the issue against Binay.

As a matter of fact, they were very quick to announce that after the first hearing, they would terminate the investigation  on the convention center.

Luckily for us, Cebuano Sen. Serge Osmeña was against the early termination of the hearings because the issues were not yet discussed thoroughly.

I think Serge  was correct. For the sake of fairness, the senators should show extra vigilance in guarding the people’s money  and be very strict, though not sweeping, in their statements during the conduct of the  investigation.

In  the Constitution, Congress is mandated to conduct investigations or inquiries in aid of legislation and not in aid of prosecution,  but I do not agree that Congressional inquiries should take the same path as  the one  against Vice President Binay.

The senators have practically concluded that the vice president committed the offense   of illegally amassing wealth by depending merely on the testimonies of witnesses that may not stand judicial scrutiny.

To add insult to injury, the senators are quick in making  generalizations.

It is clear that the Senate is very soft in investigating  an ally while obviously hard on  investigations against a non-ally of the administration.

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