Nobody loses an election in this country

The Supreme Court ruling disqualifying Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito as Laguna governor cannot be questioned since it was based on a Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution which said he was unfit to hold public office due to overspending.

But why did the Comelec pick on Ejercito when almost all candidates spend more than what is allowed by law?

The money that goes to vote-buying, for example, is not included in a candidate’s election expenses but more often than not, one cannot win without buying votes.

Buying votes on or before election day constitutes a big part of a candidate’s expenses.

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Edgar San Luis, whom Ejercito defeated in the 2013 election, sought his disqualification before the Comelec for overspending.

But can San Luis look people in the eye and say he didn’t overspend or buy votes?

In this country, nobody loses an election because most of the time, the loser claims he was cheated.

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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has lifted the entry ban against nine Hong Kong journalists who asked President Noy annoying questions during the 21st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bali, Indonesia last year in connection with the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident in 2010.

Why was the entry ban imposed in the first place by this country that prides itself on having the freest press in Asia, if not in the world?

The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) had considered the Hong Kong journalists threats to public safety, the reason cited by the BI for its decision to deny them entry into the country.

How could journalists who ask the President annoying or irrelevant questions be considered security risks?

The Nica has a low IQ or intelligence quotient.

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Those Hong Kong journalists were just expressing the sentiments of their government and people when they interviewed P-Noy.

They didn’t even throw a shoe at the President as an Iraqi reporter did to then US President George W. Bush in Baghdad several years ago.

Why was the ban imposed when the journalists from Hong Kong didn’t show signs they would physically harm P-Noy?

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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) should be wary of foreigners who volunteer to take care of street children.

While on a medical mission at the Mandaue Central Elementary School in Mandaue City, Cebu province on Nov. 25, I noticed two Arab-looking men bring 10 street children to the makeshift dental clinic our group had set up on the campus.

My suspicious nature was not aroused since the kids were also accompanied by a DSWD employee.

While talking about our accomplishments at the hotel that night, one of our dentists said she saw the two foreigners touching the kids’ intimate parts to keep them from moving unnecessarily during the dental checkup.

I called up Violy Cavada, the DSWD head in Cebu, on Wednesday and told her about the two foreigners; she said she would immediately look into the matter.

The question is: What are the criteria of the DSWD in taking in foreign volunteers?