Screening charity donors

It is good that the Catholic Church has decided to screen donors of its charity works in the  aftermath of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) fund  controversy.

Many unscrupulous personalities like gambling and drug lords would donate before  because some  church leaders didn’t  bother to look into the source of the gifts.

With Archbishop Jose  Palma at the helm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, many are looking  forward to reforms  like the screening of donors.

Since Archbishop Palma made it  clear that the church will continue to collaborate with the government in many of its works, he  should caution other bishops against calling for the  resignation of the President only after a year of service just because they got a vehicle from the previous administration.

Bishops and priests should be prudent about making anti-government statements. They  can  undermine the stability of the government. I know the government is not perfect so let’s  work together to make it near perfect instead of seeking its downfall.

The resignation or ouster of President Aquino will not help solve the problems confronting the country.

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Mayor Michael Rama is correct in his plan to reblock  roads in fire-damaged  barangays in Cebu City. This will prevent having firemen again failing to penetrate  fire zones for lack of access roads.

Illegal settlers already occupy  every  open space and  have contributed to flooding during the rainy season. If one passes through the narrow road to a certain private hospital in Cebu City  one can see what I am talking about. Settlers have practically eaten up the sidewalk to extend their houses unmindful that they are blocking the road that ambulances and vehicles carrying patients go through.

It is good that Mayor Rama, instead of allowing fire victims to immediately rebuild their homes, is taking this  preventive step against   big fires in the future by widening roads.

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Many thought the conflict between the Durano brothers  in Danao City was  over. Unfortunately the recall proceeding that Vice Mayor Nito and the City Council filed against Mayor Boy Durano  is in progress. The mayor in turn has filed  cases against the vice mayor  and the councilors.

While they are fighting, the people of Danao City are suffering the absence of basic services because both parties block each other’s initiatives.

I hope  the conflict will not lead to  violence and  will be resolved by cooler heads. Filing cases at the Ombudsman will be futile.  The office usually takes some time to decide on  a case.

Take as  examples the 2003 Girl Scouts funds  case involving former Congresswoman Clavel Asas Martinez and the 2005 expose of overpriced computers  in  Lapu-Lapu City that businessman Efrain  Pelaez Jr. filed against former mayor Boy Radaza.

The decisions in these cases by  the Office of the Ombudsman were released this month after hibernating for more than two years . The  public officials in question are no longer in office.

The decisions are  anti-climactic.

Cases in the Office of the Ombudsman should be resolved quickly so that the government’s anti-corruption advocacy of the government will not be hampered.