The importance
of a center

Headline: "Newks, Bing ready to work together." This is for the airport. And may I add, for Bacolod too. I always welcome feedback. My column yesterday, written in a lighter vein, got some feedback. I note, lighter topics get more reactions than heavier topics. The one I wrote last Monday emphasizing the call of CBCP for government to charge and jail people involved in the irregularities of the elections as well as the other topic about graft and corruption as the main cause of insurgency. And that killing some leftists or rebels does not solve insurgency did not get any reaction.

* * *

My column yesterday got reactions. Who is closer to President Arroyo? No one can answer that except the President. Both! Conventional wisdom dictates a tactful answer to a difficult question.

Now, on the center, I was told, after Mayor Leonardia has his government and call centers, Congressman Puentevella must put up his center or centers too.

Like the Folk Arts Center but renamed by the naughty media as Imelda's Center. Monico loves centers too, he said. Whatever he meant, I don't know. But I told him everybody loves centers.

And Bing calls it government center and call center because he has a soft heart for centers too.

* * *

When my friend mentioned the Imelda Center before Martial Law, I remembered Sen. Ninoy Aquino hounded President Marcos on the costly Folk Arts Center which the naughty newspapermen named Imelda's Center.

Ninoy Aquino denounced the anomalies in the building of the Imelda Center. He said, he "exposed Imelda's Center and it stinks."

My golly, nothing enraged Ferdinand Marcos than the statement of Ninoy. Then it was renamed Folk Arts Theater or FAT. Not Folk Arts Center or FAC."

Congressman Puentevella might want to put up a cultural or arts center. Bacolod needs it.

* * *

So much for the center. Let's go to the side issues.

There is generated an interest in the electric jeep. I interviewed both Pancho Puckett and Athena Ballesteros, distributors in the country of this E-Jeep.

It will be the passenger jeepney of the future. It's environment friendly. And, I believe, because it does not use gasoline or crude oil, it's less costly to operate. Drivers can make a little more.

* * *

Many agreed the awards to all awardees in the Go Negosyo Caravan last week from President Arroyo are well deserved.

But very many are still just as deserving, I was told. Of course, I said, The awards will lose their meaning if given to a thousand entrepreneurs. There are more awards coming. The President challenged the younger people to also develop entrepreneurial skills.

Roseller C. Ciocon of L'Fisher, flagship of his Group of Companies, is another deserving entrepreneur. Jose Vicente (JV) Tanpinco of Business Inn and other companies is another.

* * *

We support Ceneco President Bobby Montelibano and the board for looking ahead on the possibility of power needs in 2011. Bobby, a multi-awardee entrepreneur is running Ceneco well.

Ceneco has a contract with the National Power Corporation for power supply until 2010. If this Korean firm is selling us power at a much better rate, then we buy from it.

The rate in 2011 is P4.30 per kilowatt hour. Today we buy from Napocor at an average rate of more than P5 per kilowatt hour. In 2011, Napocor might charge very much more.

* * *

The remains of one of the 14 Marine soldiers beheaded in Basilan who is from Negros arrived the other day. He is from Kabankalan.

It was real treachery. And the acts very inhuman with the beheading of the slain Marines. We have already heard of many incidents with Muslims of treachery like this.

That is the reason why despite many attempts to put our Muslim brothers in a good light, we cannot, because of the perception they are the people who cannot be trusted.

In many recent elections, no Muslim candidate won a national seat. A Muslim sultan candidate for the Senate in the last election was there at the tail end.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front said it will not surrender many of their fighters supposed to have been involved in the ambush and the beheading.

I look at it as a challenge to the sovereignty of government. Our soldiers have to ask permission to go into what MILF said, is their territory. Where is our national sovereignty?

This is the fault of government. It has not succeeded showing to all that it is sovereign.

***

Correction. The Mass at Lupit Church on the 79th birthday of Rafael Salas is 8 a.m. on August 7. Calling NOHS Class '47.*

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