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.
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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.