‘In Between Columns’

"Personalan na ni." This was the answer of a representative from the camp of Mayor Boy Radaza when asked by a mutual friend to stop its hounding og the Marina mall because this is not doing the mayor any good PR wise.

"If you want to go after the mall for whatever motive, then finish it quickly. But don’t think about PR because you will surely be clobbered.

I think what the Radaza camp wanted is help in damage control or at the most in deflecting or diverting the issue.

But the attempt to demolish the mall is front page news. Only the likes of bombings could deflect the issue.

Even then CDN chose to highlight the closure of the mall than the bombing of Glorietta ni Makati city.

As of now, even Gov. Gwen Garcia and the MEPZ have sided with Ephraim Pelaez than Mayor Radaza. With MEPZ, I expect that later PEZA would join the fray and its ally in Malacañang, Sec. Cerge Remonde.

With these forces arrayed against the mayor, i think the mayor should stand down and find the best way out. He can fight Pelaez some other time or in some other way.

In my view, the Marina mall controversy is damaging to Mayor Radaza.

Mingaw ang customs karon kay way trabaho. No, it’s not a holiday and people have gone to work. But still, it is "mingaw kay way trabaho."

Why is this so?

In customs lingo, "trabaho" means a shipment of mis-declared goods. Being mis-declared, one needs to "timbre" with the collectors in-charge and when the goods arrive, pay the "tara."

The accumulated "tara" is subdivided among customs folk and it trickles down to the haoshaois and the kibitzers.

This trickle down system with people having something to give and receive makes customs "alegre."

Unfortunately for customs folk nowadays, "mingaw ang adwana." There’s no "trabaho."

Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) Cebu chief Rico PAlcuto went to the office of District Collector Boysie Belmonte with Ombudsman Virginia Santiago to ask for copies of the manifests and related documents.

They also set office at the Cebu International Port (CIP). And Ely Baquero said they have a  night vision telescope in place.

Dako nga tara ang tirada or they have funding from the car dealers?

I still have to hear from the Customs side.

It took me a long while to buy the kids the latest Harry Potter book. But I’m happy there are books that can keep the attention of today’s "sound-byte" generation.