We are known to be flexible and resilient under any circumstance. These amiable traits have been extraordinarily demonstrated by our brethren, the earthquake victims, who now live in their makeshift tents from the rummage of what was left of their damaged houses after the 6.9 tremor hit the northern towns of Cebu on Sept. 30, 2025, at around 10 in the evening when everyone was in slumber or about to sleep.
During that time, I was at home working on something on my laptop when I noticed that our house was moving and the ceiling was cracking. It was then I realized there was an earthquake. I was about to stand up after around more than three seconds to grab hold of our TV set when the shaking stopped. What followed next was total darkness. Good thing my laptop was still fully charged; it provided me light. The signal was out and the data did not work so I had difficulty contacting family members.
The following day, the news that the earthquake took several lives and injured many more, as well as destroyed houses, was all over the world. Plenty of sinkholes were discovered in some of the affected areas, which kept many residents from returning to their homes, afraid that these would collapse from the aftershocks.
I truly commiserate with the victims. I made a personal contribution to the funds our Rotary Club Cebu South used to bring relief food and goods to the victims in Bogo City on Sunday. The effort was led by our president, Rheiner Mora, and our Rotaractors, working through the city officials.
The National Government and the Red Cross have established a “tent city” to temporarily house displaced families in Bogo City and neighboring towns. Capitol, in a news report, would pour P38 million in financial assistance to the affected local government units. Gov. Pam Baricuatro met with DSWD officials and mayors of the towns.
Let’s put political colors aside and hope for the better and also hope that the relief goods and food would reach the victims soon despite some negative comments from some sectors.
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The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hit yet another setback after Sen. Ping Lacson, who replaced Senator Marcoleta as chairman, resigned after rumors, which he said were fake news or false narratives, whirled around the Senate halls that his course in the investigation of anomalous flood control projects was only directed against his fellow senators.
The other day, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada made true his threats to file cases against former DWPH assistant director Brice Hernandez, who named him and Sen. Joel Villanueva of receiving money from the flood control ghost projects in Bulacan.
I have serious doubt the case that Senator Estrada filed against Hernandez would prosper since Fernandez’s testimony was made before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, which is privileged. Well, that’s a face-saving move.
“Di naman ako manhid” not to understand what their saying, referring to his fellow senators who were allegedly dissatisfied with how he handled the committee’s investigation.
Here are some plausible underlying reasons that Senator Ping did not hold back on his decision to resign as chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee:
• If Lacson was perceived as pushing too hard in implicating colleagues, there might be political risk or retaliation, especially within his own bloc or alliances that is fragile that tends to dislike internal conflicts made public.
• A probe that points fingers at sitting senators could threaten cohesion, compromise future legislative deals, or upset leadership stability.
• Being the chairman of a committee that may expose corruption puts one under intense scrutiny. Even if Lacson believed his evidence was solid, there could be risks if some allegations were less documented, or witnesses retracted, or evidence was weak. Critics might target Lacson personally for alleged selective investigations because some senators want former speaker of the House Martin Romualdez and former congressman Zaldy Co, who’s out of the country, to appear before the committee.
• Lacson may have felt that the pace or scope was being impeded in ways beyond his control.
• Part of the battle is how things look to the public and to his fellow senators. If enough senators believe the narrative that Lacson was being unfair, or focusing on certain people while sparing others, then even if those are ‘misrepresentations,’ they become serious political liabilities. Lacson may have felt he was fighting not only the anomalies but also the growing perception issue, where trust in his leadership was waning.