Araneta firm blocking public road

THE divorce bill in the House of Representatives is in step with the times.

Malta, a predominantly Catholic country in Europe like the Philippines, is about to pass a law legalizing divorce.

This would leave the Philippines the only country in the world that bans divorce.

Legislators, who might be swayed by Catholic bishops on the divorce issue, should be reminded that Italy approved the divorce law many years ago.

If the country where the seat of Catholicism is located has a divorce law, why not the Philippines?

The trouble with our Catholic bishops is that they’re more popish than the Pope.

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The Department of Health is in the thick of the campaign to make the Philippines smoke-free.

Ironically, President Noy is a smoker—and a heavy smoker at that.

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I was once a three-packs-a-day smoker, so I understand if P-Noy is having a hard time kicking the habit.

One of my greatest achievements in life was to quit smoking.

After successfully ridding myself of the nicotine habit, I feel that any other problem that comes my way is easy to solve.

If P-Noy can solve his smoking problem, he can solve any problem as the country’s Chief Executive.

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Globe Telecoms is complaining that the impending merger of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) and Digitel might lead to a monopoly.

Globe Telecoms is the owner of Globe cellular phones, PLDT is owned by billionaire Manny Pangilinan who also owns Smart mobile phones, while the Gokongwei-owned Digitel operates the Sun cellular network.

Owned by the Ayala Group of Companies, Globe wanted to buy out Digitel but the deal did not push through.

If that’s not sour-graping, I don’t know what is.

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Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has cancelled the “sleeping out” privilege of VIPs or rich prisoners at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP).

She should also order NBP officials to dismantle the kubol (huts), where wealthy inmates live, inside the prison compound.

The kubol system is a testament to the unequal treatment of prisoners inside the national penitentiary.

Prison authorities allow VIPs to build their own huts inside the prison compound because they are paid off.

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Before Ernesto Diokno resigned as director of the Bureau of Corrections, he told me that he had identified the drug-lord inmate who ordered the murder of his assistant director, Rodrigo Mercado.

“I will deal with him severely,” Diokno told me.

Now Diokno is no longer in a position to avenge Mercado’s death.

Diokno’s replacement should punish the mastermind of Mercado’s murder.

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A big company owned by the mother of former senator and prospective Malacañang chief of staff Mar Roxas is blocking a public road in San Mateo, Rizal province.

The Progressive Development Corp. (PDC) of the Araneta Group of Companies has put up a boom in the middle of Kambal-Maarat Road.

As a result, people going to their farms adjacent to that owned by the PDC are prevented from using the road.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has ordered the PDC to remove the boom, to no avail.

The PDC really knows how to wield power.