Uneasy lies the head that …

There is a saying that the head that holds the crown lies uneasy on him who owns it. And that seems to be true again in the case of House Speaker Jose De Venecia. The House leader is now again under siege. No less than Rep. Prospero Nograles, (also a half-Ilonggo), as the battering ram and potential successor to the House leader.

While Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita tried to distance Malacañang and the President from the coup plot, there is no gainsaying that all these things that have been happening and all the movements as well as pronouncements by President Gloria Arroyo's camp have shown that the plot is serious and could be hatched anytime.

All these are linked to the ongoing Senate investigation into the ZTE broadband deal which the President had cancelled last year amid a major stir in the Senate.

This time, Joey de Venecia had been prevailed upon by the Speaker not to show up again at the Senate hearing. Yet, one must appreciate that the De Venecia sibling had come home from the US just to attend the hearing. Purportedly only to corroborate Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr., president and CEO of the Philippine Forest Corp., had been expected to witness on the deal.

Lozada, however, left yesterday for Hongkong on his way to London . He is reportedly on a government mission and is expected to stay there until February 7.

The more important thing – Lozada was reportedly a consultant of Commission on Higher Education Acting Secretary Romulo Neri on the ZTE broadband deal. And he reportedly has first hand knowledge of the rumored talks about the deal, including the reported bribes and bribe offers.

De Venecia claimed yesterday that Lozada had a talk with him the other night. The Forest Corporation CEO reportedly told him about the threats to this life and his family. And his fear for his life. He did not however bare who were behind these threats to his person and his family.

But the more significant (if true) is the report that Lozada and Neri had video tapes and affidavits on what they have kept from the Senate as their insurance against any harm occurring to them.

In short, the two (Neri denied having done it) made sure that their tormentors would have their comeuppance should anything happen to them.

The move, if true, is laudable. But that falls short of the need for the patriotic thing to do – tell the truth. And they need not be afraid of telling the truth if they had stashed away documents and records of what they know and the hidden secrets behind the ZTE broadband deal.

Well, for the moment that's where we are. And Joe De V is being accused of trying to destabilize the government and the administration. Oh, well, that's the Philippines we love.

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February 18 to 22 will be red letter days for lucky Negrenses. These will be the days when the 44-man Phoenix Fil-Am Lions club, jointly with the Council of Lions clubs Presidents of Negros Occidental, will conduct their cataract mission at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital .

The Phoenix team, led by Dr. Conrad Ballecer Jr. as coordinator, and President Ethel Luzario, will handle the cataract operation on 170 patients at least.

Its local partner – the SightFirst Foundation Inc. headed by chairperson Lion Celia Ferrer. Chair of the Council is Raymund Tongson, while Bacolod City Host Lions Club is headed by Lion Ruth Gasapo.

Aside from the cataract operation on 170 patients, the Phoenix Fil-Am group and their local counterparts will also undertake 10 corrective surgery on cross-eyed patients.

There will also be refraction for prescription eyeglasses. Celia Ferrer said 6,000 pieces of prescribed reading glasses will be given out for free.

There will also be eye screening of schoolchildren and diabetes detection.

The Phoenix team will include among its ranks ophthalmologist, optometrist, anesthesiologist, internist, OB-Gyne specialist, nurses and some volunteers.

The medical mission will last until Feb. 22, according to Sight First Foundation chair Ferrer.

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Despite the hullabaloo over the takeover ordinance of BREDCO Port by the city government, Sammy Palanca appears unfazed.

Wednesday afternoon, when I passed by the BREDCO area after a visit to the SM Mall, I spotted Sammy and stockholders of BREDCO inspecting the finishing work on the Pavilion Hotel. The towering building is the newest addition to the many projects Sammy had put up in the reclamation area.

“Let's just wait for the courts to decide on what the city will do if they are allowed to go through with it,” pointed out the BREDCO chairman.*

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