FACES OF THE NEWS: Sept. 15, 2019

Illustrations by Rene Elevera

Jose Antonio Goitia

After more than two years of serving as executive director of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), Jose Antonio Goitia found himself without a job on Tuesday.

Malacañang and later President Rodrigo Duterte himself announced Goitia’s termination on allegations of corruption, with the President even threatening to tie him up and dump him into the Pasig River’s murky waters.

Without going into details, the President alleged that Goitia was “telling people that he will be appointed customs collector, and already was collecting.”

He also warned that Goitia won’t be the last PRRC official to be sacked for wrongdoing, and that he was investigating other PRRC officials.

While Goitia did not comment on the allegations, he thanked the President for entrusting the PRRC to him and said he would remain supportive of the Duterte administration despite his termination.

Rafael Ragos

Rafael Ragos spent only four months as Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer in charge, but he was able to learn about numerous money-making schemes within the national penitentiary.

These include the sale and trade of contraband, bringing in of prostitutes, collection of money from inmates to be given to BuCor officials, kidnapping for ransom of prisoners’ wives or girlfriends, and the running of a 24-hour virtual casino inside the jail.

He also reiterated his earlier testimony that he delivered drug money to then Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and her then boyfriend and bodyguard, Ronnie Dayan.

The justice committee chair, Sen. Richard Gordon, is trying to use Ragos’ testimony to boost his theory that De Lima also used the good conduct time allowance law to make money from inmates when she was justice secretary.

Ragos is under the witness protection program and has immunity.

The LGBTQ+ community

The LGBTQ+ community briefly saw a glimmer of hope when initial reports quoted President Rodrigo Duterte as saying that he would certify the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (Sogie) bill as urgent, but it was quickly given a reality check when Malacañang clarified his statement.

It turned out that the President would rather back a broad antidiscrimination bill, one that would not focus solely on the treatment of members of the LGBTQ+ community.

However, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the Sogie bill’s Senate proponent, said the measure was still necessary.

The bill was the best policy tool to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination, harassment and violence.

But their efforts to push the Sogie bill have met with stiff resistance from Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who claimed the measure was against women’s rights.

Arthur Tugade and Grace Poe

The word war between Sen. Grace Poe and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade took a sharp turn on Thursday, after the senator said Tugade needed to be replaced as transportation secretary for underperforming amid the worsening road congestion in Manila.

In response, the usually circumspect secretary — always talking in rhetoric, never in glib particulars — attacked Poe as being “full of herself” for going after his job.

“I serve only at the pleasure of the President,” the Cabinet secretary said, “not subject to the whims, caprice and theatrics of misguided politicians.”

Tugade’s statement quickly drew flak among netizens who pointed out his misplaced loyalty, saying he should in fact serve the suffering people.

The relationship between Poe and Tugade has always been fraught as Poe often holds the Department of Transportation to task for the rotten public transport system.

Rhenz Abando

Aldin Ayo has admitted that he has had Rhenz Abando in his radar for quite some time. Now that the athletic, springy wingman from La Union has finally hooked up with the University of Santo Tomas (UST) coach, he is proving worthy of the long wait.

Abando cranked up his offense the moment the Tigers opened their bid in Season 82 of the UAAP, sending UST to back-to-back wins early.

He knocked down triples as UST dumped the University of the East, 95-82, and provided the scoring to put the Tigers in a position to break away from a stunned favorite University of the Philippines, 85-69.

Abando struggled early against defending champion Ateneo, a game UST eventually lost, 71-70.

But even in defeat, Abando gave the powerhouse Blue Eagles reason to be wary of their next meeting.

Tigers fans will see a lot more of Abando in the future — the guy is one of many promising rookies in the UST roster.