Monday, March 26, 2007 Rama: The lamplighters By Karlon N. Rama Stage Five
THERE has been a lot of hubbub over those allegedly overpriced decorative lampposts and streetlamps used in last January’s Asean Summit.
The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas recently terminated its fact-finding investigation on the subject. And the verdict is out—suspend all 19 people responsible for buying the items and haul their collective behinds to court. Some of those lamps were supposedly bloated by as much as P 95,000 each.
My “other job” in the paper has brought me so close to the action that I now struggle to remember and say alleged before I say overpriced.
Seven of the 12 years I’ve spent in the media has been to cover the anti-graft office. And, along the way, I’ve met some really forthright people that I’m proud to call not mere sources but also friends.
Three of them— Engr. Rod Blazo, Elmer Gutierrez and Joy Dacumos— composed the fact-finding team that conducted the three-week investigation over the transaction.
I have not seen a government agency investigation unravel this fast in all my years in the news.
The investigators did their jobs thoroughly and relentlessly— sacrificing time, energy and effort. They fearlessly placed themselves in harm’s way— I doubt if those responsible for the anomaly aren’t now screaming bloody murder— for the sake of public good.
Why this discussion this in the sports page, some people may ask.
Well, in a way, these investigators aren’t much different from our athletes, albeit the latter fight for the country’s honor. Where best, then, to recognize their efforts, sacrifice and success?
Speaking of the job, I’ve been very fortunate to work under people who, unlike others, not merely mouth their recognition of the individual’s right of self protection but also respect the individual’s choice on how to do so.
I write this looking back to an unexpected visit from the General Manager, Mr. Orlando P. Carvajal, one fine afternoon last week. OPC, as he is called in these parts, writes a column, Break Point, which I religiously follow, and has published a very inspiring book, Rough Edges.
His congenial visit resulted in a pleasant conversation about his farm and the revolver.
A few years back, I bought a revolver from Erlinda Pacaldo of Twin Pines Inc. I wanted a personal-defense weapon and, because of conditions obtaining at that time, I opted for wheel-gun over an auto-pistol.
I was operating on a budget and wanted a firearm small enough to be politically correct, accurate enough to do the job and durable enough to go into the dirt with it.
Thirty days after, I got a call saying my revolver— a Ruger SP101 double-action only five-shot snubby— was ready for pickup.
It’s not as exquisite as an S&W Chief’s Special or a Colt Cobra but, in value for money, accuracy and durability, one simply cannot go wrong with a firearm stamped with the Ruger bird’s head.
I have brought it to the range countless times and have used it to compete in what the people at the Kamagong Gun Club call a BUG (Back-up Gun) match where only snubs and sub-compact auto-pistols are allowed. Some I won, some I lost, but all were fun.
It is the firearm I keep at my bedside and, almost immediately after I got it, I secured a written permit so I may carry it whenever prudence dictates. After all, discretion is the better part of valor.
People have varying opinions on what is the ideal firearm for self protection or home defense. Ask four people and they’ll probably give you three different answers— a shotgun, an M16, a 1911 and a revolver.
But whatever the outcome of the inquiry, one can hardly argue that the double-action revolver is that it is one of the simplest of all firearms to operate and shoot.
This, in turn, makes the revolver one of the safest of all firearms.
And while this is not to say that accidents cannot happen with revolvers, accidents are much less likely to happen with a wheel-gun than they are with complicated semi-automatics.
When it comes to actual shooting, the revolver is simplicity defined. Accomplishing that long, heavy pull on that double-action trigger is all that is required. There are no levers to thumb and slides to pull back.
SP101s are rare here, unlike those Glocks and Paras literally swamping the market.
They were off the local market for a while until Twin Pines, only last February, brought one in as a display model in their F. Ramos showroom. It’s in .357 but not a double-action only.
