Time to replace DOJ chief

Sen. JV Ejercito spoke for the majority of the population when he said that politics should not be injected into the murder of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos.

“The issue of Kian should go beyond politics. The issue is humanity. The best way to give justice to Kian is to make sure this horrific crime does not happen again to any minor,” Ejercito said.

The killing of Kian by three Caloocan City policemen was apparently a case of mistaken identity as he was never involved in drugs as his neighbors and classmates swear.

The issue would have been put to rest—mistakes are made as law enforcers are only too human—if not for that lame-brained Caloocan City prosecutor, Darwin Cañete, who said that Kian’s “innocence [was] too far-fetched.”

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II made things worse by saying there was no reason to relieve Cañete over his senseless remark.

And then, Aguirre, who tends to put his foot in his mouth most of the time, made the insensitive remark that Kian’s murder by policemen was just an “isolated incident.”

Malacañang distanced itself from the justice secretary with the pronouncement that Kian’s killers would be brought to justice.

It’s high time President Digong started looking for Aguirre’s replacement.

The justice secretary seems to be a pabigat (big burden) to the President at this time he needs everyone’s support for his war on drugs.

* * *

DA upbeat bird flu has been contained — headline.

The bird flu outbreak should have been contained if the Department of Agriculture had immediately quarantined two barangays in San Luis, Pampanga, where it all started.

The flu virus quickly spread because agriculture department field men were natutulog sa pansitan (sleeping on the job).

An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

People avoid eating chicken and eggs nowadays because of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol’s early pronouncement that the bird flu virus had the type of strain that could be transmitted to humans.

That particular strain killed many people in Hong Kong 20 years ago.

It turned out Piñol, a tenderfoot agriculturist, was wrong, as it was ordinary avian flu caused by the sudden change in temperature and an unsanitary environment.

But Piñol, who has a monumental ego, never corrected himself properly.

* * *

Jose Ma. Sarasola II, former general manager of the Philippine National Railways (PNR), has found that working for the government is a thankless job that could later get you into trouble.

Joey Sarasola was convicted recently by the Sandiganbayan for failure to remit a PNR employee’s premiums to the Government Service Insurance System.

He was made to pay a stiff fine after he pleaded guilty under a plea bargain agreement in order to have the case, which has dragged on for years, over and done with.

The case was filed before Sarasola took over the PNR but he was the one left holding the bag.

Poor guy!

Read more...