INNOVATIVE is the new meaning of corrupt. That is, if you believe what Vice President Jejomar Binay said during a media forum at the Luneta hotel in Manila. He said, “I am not corrupt, just innovative.” VP Binay even blamed society for suspecting he is corrupt.
Binay argued that, because he has not been suspended, it follows that he is not corrupt. He is playing with words. Abogado ka Torni Jojo? Sorry for the yarn about lawyers but I just can’t avoid it since he is a lawyer and was against the martial law regime of the late president Ferdinand Marcos.
“Our government, hindi tayo innovator eh. Kung nag-iinnovate ka, chances are magkakakaso ka,” Binay said.
VP Binay considers himself as innovator when he was mayor of Makati City. But the Commission on Audit (COA) found his innovations as “red flags” and the Blue Ribbon subcommittee that investigated Makati City’s overpriced parking building 2 called it “shortcuts.”
Binay even has the gall to say that, if elected president, he would continue the anti-corruption campaign of President Noynoy Aquino even when he is facing several allegations of corruption and complaints of plunder.
“Aalisin ko ang mga sige pa rin sa graft and corruption ngayon pero hindi naman si Pangulo (referring to President Aquino) kasama diyan,” Binay said. Sorry for the language but sobrang kapal muks talaga si kakulay.
VP Binay commended the “Tuwid na Daan” policy of President Aquino. However, when the Liberal Party (LP) stalwarts said President Aquino will never anoint him as the official candidate for president, he swiped at the President saying that before condemning someone they should look at the evidence.
The Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee report stated that the former Makati mayor led the grand conspiracy to plunder P1.38 billion in public funds from the parking building by rigging the bids and owning a vast estate in Batangas.
So, if you know someone who is facing corruption cases, don’t call him corrupt but just call him “the innovator.”
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The problem with the heavy traffic in Metro Cebu is the very slow work on roads that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) repaired. Worse, contractors do not comply with the requirement to put up appropriate directional traffic signs.
Look at the drainage and concreting works along A. S. Fortuna St., Mandaue City. There are no directional traffic signs that warn motorists of the ongoing road work and directs them where to go.
Naturally, drivers who pass this road the first time would be confused where to go, thus causing congestion, which is aggravated by undisciplined PUJ drivers.
The drivers are left on their own.
Motor vehicles coming from Mandaue City and northern Cebu pass through A. S. Fortuna St. because it’s the alternate route to Cebu City through Banilad.
But DPWH officials have done nothing to enforce the requirement on contractors to put up the appropriate traffic signs. The possibility of a collision is remote since the opposing traffic fight for a narrow space on the road undergoing repair.
In days that traffic is so worse, we don’t even see traffic enforcers that would help direct traffic and impose discipline on the road. We know that most drivers, especially PUJ drivers, abuse if they don’t see traffic enforcers on the road.
Indeed, there is basis for netizens to complain about the traffic not only in Mandaue City but also in other cities. Yesterday at 10 a.m., I experienced the worst traffic along the so-called highway after the flyover in Maguikay.
Calling on DPWH officials and traffic enforcers. Enforce what is required of the contractors doing road repairs and other road works that will obstruct or delay the flow of traffic. Also, strictly enforce the No U-turn rule for heavy trucks on the highway.
(freezone.ellie588@gmail.com)