Which GMA was being blamed?

The statement may have outraged the management of the television company, but many people agree with the assessment of Local Government undersecretary Marius Corpuz when he said that what happened at the Ultra that had caused the deadly stampede was "like throwing a slice of meat to a pack of hungry wolves". The offer of only 300 tickets to the 30,000 or so that had gathered did, indeed, appear like that.

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I do not go with the description that the victims were "treated like animals" because that clearly isn't true. If any inhuman acts had been committed, it had been by those in the crowd who, forgetting that they were with other human beings, just trampled on those who fell in their panic. How terrible it is to think that there were no cooler heads or more authoritative ones who could have called the rampaging crowds to stop panicking. I wonder if the program emcee couldn't have done that?

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Anyway, that's all hindsight now, let us just hope that the next gatherings for similar occasions will be better controlled. If one were to get some amusing notes from the incident, it would be in the repeated calls from Malacañang and from the President's protectors, asking the people not to put the blame on GMA. Of course they meant the president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but malicious ones said they thought what was being referred to was the rival station of ABS-CBN.

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I noted one interesting note in the item announcing the results of the latest licensure examination for architects. The report listed the top performing schools in the examination and I noticed that five of them were based in the provinces: the University of Bohol, Batangas State University, Mindanao Polytechnic College, Ateneo de Davao, and St. Louis University of Baguio. In recent years, Bacolod's La Consolacion College was also among such schools. What does it prove? The fact that schools outside Imperial Manila offer as good, or better training to their students. So parents who still cling to the idea that only Manila can provide the best professional education for their children should rethink that now.

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Speaking of education, I thought the issue of Department of Education Undersecretary Mike Luz had already been resolved, and that he had already been forgiven for that post-dated check brouhaha. It looks now as if the vindictive forces up there have not been mollified, they were only allowing Mike Luz to mark time. Remember that case, shortly after the election? Luz, who has been doing very well at the DepED, for which he had given up a better-paying job, failed to toe the political line, by refusing to accept postdated checks to be given to some candidate, and relayed through his office.

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For that, he got a "Dear John" letter from a palace functionary thanking him for his services. Meaning, the door is now wide open for you to leave. But Luz hang on, because even the head of the Civil Service Commission backed him up, pointing out that he is a career service official, entered into the roll of eligibles, who cannot be dismissed except for cause. Of course they could not say that refusing to be part of any anomalous transaction is "cause" enough, so he was told to move to the Department of Labor instead, to a post he does not relish. That was months ago, before Hello Garci distracted everybody. I have heard that he is again being ordered to move on to DOLE, or get fired. Alas and alack. When the Civil Service Commission officials voted, only the chairperson was for him. This is something to watch again.

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Now it is not only a story reported to Twinkling so others can be warned. This time is happened to me. Yesterday I got a text message saying: CONGRATULATIONS UR CELL# WAS D' LUCKIEST SECOND PRIZE WINNER WORTH 1 MILLION PESOS DURING OUR 28TH P.C.S.O. CHARITY RAFFLE DRAW HELD LAST NIGHT…per D.T. NCR prmt #3374-ser..06. TO CLAIM UR PRIZE CONTACT or CALL NOW MR. JULIUS A. ROBLES CHAIRMAN BOARD OF JUDGES CONGRATULATIONS" The number of the sender was 639212644079.

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I think I have received reports of similar messages from seven or eight persons already, and I'm glad I have incontrovertible proof that such things are really going on. Now, we have heard or read of disclaimers both from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Philippine Amusement and Games Corp. warning against scams like this. I have published this in full, hoping that the police or the NBI who, reportedly have been asked by the agencies mentioned to help, take a cue. I don't think I have the resources or the capability to do it myself, but this racket should be stopped, too many have been duped already.*

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