‘Tolentino has exhibited more independence and has spoken openly against former President Duterte’s flawed policies on the West Philippine Sea and on corruption at the Department of Health and PhilHealth.’
SEN. Francis Tolentino is the better choice over Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as chairman of the powerful Blue Ribbon Committee. People remember Cayetano as the House Speaker who brazenly double-talked ABC-CBN officers and employees that the operating franchise of the country’s largest broadcast network would be renewed.
What did he mean when he teased Tolentino with a sense of sarcasm that “I pray that he would do all the best he can to hold this government truly accountable to the people?”
If he was serious about it, Cayetano would have resigned as member of the majority party in Congress at the height of the franchise renewal hearings because he knew well enough that he was leading the House members in throwing the vital constitutional mandate “check and balance” out of the window.
Tolentino has exhibited more independence and has spoken openly against former President Duterte’s flawed policies on the West Philippine Sea and on corruption at the Department of Health and PhilHealth.
To their credit, majority of the senators have awakened to the fact that Cayetano’s credibility, or the lack of it, would affect the public image and threaten the quality output of the Blue Ribbon Committee. Many say that much of Cayetano’s credibility, which he skillfully built as a young congressman, vanished along with the hopes for the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise. He would be shunted to the Senate committee dealing with economic developmental goals.
The real surprise in the selection of committee chairmanships is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada heading the major committees on Labor and National Defense. A major suspect in the pork barrel scandal for which he is still under trial, along with scam mastermind Janet Napoles Estrada, Estrada may yet embarrass himself with persistent issues that have degraded his political and social credibility.
If and when Estrada presides over public hearings on the miserable plight of jobless workers and the consequent declining financial conditions of countless families, would he simply overlook the hundreds of millions of government funds that would have been redirected to alleviate their wretched lives but had been pocketed instead by powerful public officials?
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Since the start of the COVID pandemic, many people had no recourse but to pray for the healing of their afflicted loved ones and friends. Suddenly, turning to God overcame the usual indifference or laziness in one’s prayer life.
From international evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, founder and leader of Christ for all Nations, who led more than 70 million to Our Lord Jesus and healing thousands in his crusades, mostly in South Africa: “It is disobedience to Christ not to minister healing. To raise the objection that not all are healed is a criticism of Jesus who commanded us to heal. Critics overlook something. Healing is only a part or aspect of the responsibility to bring our petitions to God. Not all prayer is answered. There is no difference between asking for one thing and asking for another. If people don’t pray for the sick because they may not be healed, are they going to be consistent and pray for nobody in any kind of trouble in case nothing happens? Should we never ask God for anything so nobody’s hopes will be dashed?
Believe nothing, then you will never be disappointed.”
