By Alex P. Vidal
“I consider your conduct unethical and lousy.”— Peter Arno
DID the Filipino people make a big mistake in electing Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio?
Instead of focusing her attention as a public servant and attending to the needs of the people, it seems Mrs. Duterte-Carpio’s inclination is to spend time waging a battle royal against her perceived political enemies.
It appears there’s no stopping the pambansang spoiled brat from wasting precious time and government resources engaging in unnecessary and nugatory political skirmishes for her own personal benefit, while the nation is facing egregious economic crisis and calamities.
Political in-fighting and elbowing for the future higher office by our aggressive public officials is disgusting and sickening especially when the state of the nation is reeling and wobbling from a myriad of difficulties.
The people voted for their public officials primarily to serve them, not to watch somebody perform in the cockfighting arena.
In a statement dated June 7, 2023, where she used the letterhead of the Office of the Vice President, Mrs. Duterte-Carpio came out firing on all cylinders against House Speaker Martin Romualdez, her rumored rival in the 2028 presidential election.
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Her statement bewailed:
Speaker Martin Romualdez had absolutely nothing to do with my decision to run for Vice President.
To say that he “tremendously helped in pushing for” my Vice Presidential bid is acutely inaccurate – an insult to thousands of groups and individuals who incessantly implored me to reconsider an earlier decision not to join national politics.
And it was Senator Imee Marcos who eventually persuaded me to run as Vice President – and it was a decision sealed only after President Bongbong Marcos agreed to the conditions I set before running for VP.
There was no Speaker Romualdez in the picture.
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. was obviously badly informed or made to believe a lie.
Meanwhile, a person who cannot distinguish between attack and humor has no place in politics – especially if one fails to understand that political bickering is just a facet of democracy and should not be used to equate with governance.
On the one hand, how the recent political developments have become an opportunity for sycophants is quite amusing.
Let me reiterate this, however – the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is stable and strong.
It has my all-out support and the support of the majority of the Filipino people.
Thank you.
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Whatever the genesis of her feud with Speaker Romualdez, it is fundamentally wrong for Mrs. Duterte-Carpio to use the power and influence of her office to lash at a potential political rival.
It’s unethical and conduct unbecoming pure and simple.
The presidential election is five years away. There are so many important things to do and urgent problems to tackle.
Even if the presidential election is held next week, it is still not proper for Mrs. Duterte-Carpio to lambast a fellow public official in that manner because of internal political wrangling.
The interest of the country should come first before the political interest of any elected public servant—regardless of which dynasty the politician belongs.
Being the daughter of the feared former president does not give Mrs. Duterte-Carpio the right to do away with decorum and abuse her public office.
It’s grossly unfair for the Filipino people to pay for the salary of the likes of Mrs. Duterte-Carpio, who is also the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), when all they do is engage in cheap political bickering and grandstanding.
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WE are currently experiencing poor air quality in New York City as the result of smoke and haze from wildfires in Canada.
An Air Quality Health Advisory was in effect starting last night (the advisory came while we were watching the NBA Game 3 “live”) for all five boroughs that is expected to last throughout the weekend.
To limit health risks as a result of poor air quality, we’ve been told to:
-Limit outdoor activity as much as possible, especially people with heart or breathing problems, older adults, and children.
-Keep windows closed and minimize use of window air conditioning to avoid introducing poor air quality indoors.
-Wear a high-quality KN95 mask if you need to go outdoors.
And if we experience difficulty breathing and want to speak to a provider from home, we were advised to use Virtual ExpressCare and call 911 if symptoms persist and become more serious.
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As we wrote here in the previous article, the scoring machine of Denver Nuggets’ super duo—Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray—would lead the barrage of aggressions that dismantled the host Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 7.
The amazing duo got back to their effective two-man game, and the Nuggets’ re-commitment to defense led to a 109-94 victory over the Miami Heat and a 2-1 series lead.
Jokic recorded the first 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double in Finals history, finishing with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, and Murray notched a triple-double by putting up 34 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.
It was reportedly the first time in NBA history—playoffs or regular season—that teammates had 30-point triple-doubles.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)
