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The US
government acknowledged the “significant” drop in the
number of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the country
in its latest Advancing Freedom and Democracy Report
2008.
The
report also gave a thumbs-up sign to the country’s
human-rights record, although it remained skeptical on
the issue of EJKs, saying that we as a nation have
struggled with this problem throughout our history. This
is a big leap from the condemnation we received in the
past for an issue that has been mostly trumped up by
antigovernment forces and opposition elements whose only
objective is to discredit the Arroyo administration. We
have always maintained that the so-called EJKs are
mostly purges carried out by Left-leaning groups and
that the government has no business shooting its own
citizens. It appears now that the antigovernment forces’
campaign of deception has failed.
****
Detailed
Indonesian police reports revealed the global terrorism
plot of the Jema’ah Islamiyah (JI) to link with other
terror groups globally to advance their cause. The
report read like a spy thriller, complete with false
passports, prepurchased airline tickets, safe houses,
nighttime meetings, passwords and clandestine training
sites. It also revealed the JI’s training camps in
Mindanao and the recruitment of local Muslims in their
kidnapping-for-ransom and terror operations. It is
simply to illustrate that the country has always been
vulnerable to the activities of terror groups and had
been used by these evil groups to sow terror everywhere.
We are pleased to be informed that the government’s
cultural and social programs have helped in easing
discontent in the South and have promoted goodwill with
our Muslim brothers.
****
Despite
the gloomy economic prospects as a result of the soaring
oil prices, the rice-price crisis and a host of other
economic woes as influenced by global trends, the
central bank is optimistic the country will ride out the
economic storm and meet its projection of a $3.4-
billion foreign surplus this year. This is expected to
come from dollar inflows in the mining and
business-process outsourcing (BPO, or call centers)
industries, which are expected to offset dollar outflows
due to higher costs of oil and rice imports. This is the
result of intelligent economic planning which the
President has been monitoring tightly to keep the nation
in shipshape condition. Often, the man on the street is
bombarded with negative news attacking the President and
her policies. But what they don’t see is the work
expended behind each accomplishment, no matter how small
and insignificant it might appear, working for the good
of the country in a holistic and continuing process.
****
It was a
good day for the
Philippines
last weekend when Christy Isis Achanzar became the first
Filipino woman to graduate from West Point with a
Bachelor of Science degree. She also bagged a number of
awards, including the Superintendent’s award and the
National Society Dames of the Court of Honor award for
excellence in electrical engineering. Another Filipino,
Mario Feliciano, is the highest-ranked international
cadet to graduate from West Point and ranked 87th out of
a class of almost a thousand. Congratulations! We are
all proud of you.
****
The
Office of the President operates on a complex web of
concerns and its operational outlays are in the
millions, and not to wonder, because the President is
not focusing on one area alone but on a thousand details
that need her decision and support every day, 24/7. As a
result, the Office of the President incurs financial
outlays that are not often promptly audited because of
the differing time spans it takes for the programs to
gestate, after which the liquidation process begins. If
the unaudited and outstanding unliquidated expenses
bubble into millions and even billions, keep your shirt
on because these expenses will be duly liquidated in due
time. Let us not degenerate into whining and griping
fence sitters, showing our distrust against our
government in such lurid manner, because you might have
missed something there. Have you ever wondered why the
country and the President, to be specific, are earning
kudos around the world because of the manner in which
the Chief Executive is steering the ship of state out of
the tempest of globally generated economic and security
problems? Look to the good side and you will see a more
heartwarming scenario.
Display
the Philippine flag proudly. It is a symbol of a
magnificent race. |
