“Lies” and “politically motivated” are what Vice President Jojo Binay and his defenders say of allegations of his corrupt ways of governance when he was Makati City mayor.
But Binay doesn’t present proof of his innocence.
His denials would have been credible if he attended the Senate hearings investigating the alleged gross overprice in the construction of Makati City Hall Building II, and let the Office of the Ombudsman’s investigation take its course.
Now comes the allegation of detained real estate developer Delfin Lee that Binay tried to extort P200 million from him in exchange for not pursuing a case against the businessman.
As expected, Binay says Lee’s claim is “a barefaced lie,” without presenting proof of his innocence.
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President Noynoy has reminded Filipinos once again to choose their next president wisely to continue the good governance program he had mapped out even after he leaves Malacañang.
His claim of “good governance” is debatable, but there is no doubt he is an honest and sincere president.
If the President really wants someone who can carry the torch of honest governance, he should endorse Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as his successor.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, the President’s party mate, has been lagging behind in the popularity surveys and there is no chance his low survey ratings will ever improve.
Roxas doesn’t connect with the masses as well as Vice President Binay, his potential rival for the presidency, does.
Therefore, to prevent Binay from becoming the next president, P-Noynoy should anoint Duterte as his choice for the highest post in the land.
Duterte is as honest as P-Noynoy is, but has much more political will than the President does.
The Davao City mayor has the common touch of a Joseph “Erap” Estrada, a trait needed to win the presidency.
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Speaking of political will, it took much of that to turn the Pangasinan provincial capitol grounds in the capital Lingayen into a tourist attraction.
With Lingayen Gulf as background, the Pangasinan Capitol compound is the most beautiful in the country.
The governor’s official residence, called Princess Urduja Palace (named after Pangasinan’s legendary woman warrior) during the pre-Hispanic times), the provincial legislative building, the Gov. Teofilo Sison auditorium (named after the first Pangasinense to become secretary of national defense), the Narciso Ramos sports complex (named after a former foreign affairs secretary and father of former President Fidel), the World War II memorabilia ground site, and other provincial—as well as national—offices are within the 15-hectare Capitol grounds.
The Capitol is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to guided tours because many tourists come to visit during unholy hours, said tour guide Vincent Magat.
From 50,000 visitors before the place was spruced up in 2008, a total of 4.6 million tourists have visited the Capitol compound last year.
There is even a mini golf course and a hotel, where tourists and visitors of provincial officials are billeted, within the compound.
All the national and provincial offices within the Capitol grounds are renovated and painted, a far cry from what they were when I first visited the compound decades ago.
And, take note of this, dear readers, all the toilets in the Capitol grounds are clean and smell fresh, unlike most government offices in other parts of the country which have dirty and stinking toilets.
When Amado Espino, the current Pangasinan governor, was asked where he got the money to renovate the Capitol grounds, his answer was: “Where did the money that was supposed to renovate the Capitol go during the previous administrations?”