THIS TIME, the Police Regional Office (PRO) XI announced that its combined elements confiscated several cartons of smuggled cigarettes. And the confiscation was made in a series of operations in only a matter of one day. That is, from 6 in the morning of February 6 up to 5:59 in the morning of February 7. The total value of the catch was placed at P22,736,820.
Does it seem to solidify the position of the Davao Region (or specifically Davao City) as the smuggling capital of the Philippines?
For this accomplishment of the police, the Davaoeños owe them a heartfelt congratulations. Our take on the matter, however, is that such an accomplishment is somewhat hollow. Our reason is simple. We believe it is because the persistence of the smugglers to carry on their trade in Davao City is their seeming assurance that the place is still lucrative for their illegal business, despite apprehensions of their men and confiscation of their merchandise every so often.
And we also believe that the smugglers have a much bigger market in Davao City for their illegally bought cigarettes, despite the perceived strict implementation of the cigarette-smoking ban ordinance in the city in public places.
Or, are the smugglers assured of protection when the volume of their merchandise is much bigger than that announced to have been apprehended?
By the way, what happened to the confiscated cigarettes? Are these being burned, auctioned, or “gone with the wind” after a period where many seem to forget that there were confiscations made?
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Well, if there is one good project the city government is set to undertake, it is the restoration of the current Davao City Hall to its original neoclassical façade.
Yes, it is a welcome development that, if pursued, will further give more meaning to this year’s Araw ng Dabaw celebration scheduled for next month. Moreover, it is also the 100th anniversary of the construction of the neo-classical-designed City Hall of Davao.
Honestly, we believe that the city’s seat of government has been left behind by other newer cities’ seats of governance. But while the newer cities are highlighting modern designs, it is still our take that the present Davao City Hall cannot be left behind.
Unfortunately for Davao City, the various extensions made on the original building altered the neoclassical design. And the apparent neglect of the past many administrations to enhance the building’s façade, such as keeping it clean to make it soothing to the eyes of those who come for a visit or do official transactions, further diminishes the viewer’s appreciation.
We are hoping that the planned restoration will be pursued to the fullest so that those who are not aware of what buildings or edifices from the neo-classical times look like will have their opportunity to see one in the Davao City Hall.
And we are eagerly anticipating having the restoration project done in time for the week when the Araw ng Dabaw activities will be at their peak.
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Last Saturday, the City Government of Davao, through the City’s Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO), released the P1,500 subsidy for qualified seniors in some barangays.
While it was supposed to be a happy day for many who were among the recipients, it became a day of frustration for some. And who will not be frustrated when, in the previous year, many who were among the beneficiaries but in last Saturday’s payout, their names were nowhere to be found in the payroll.
True indeed that each barangay was made to submit an updated list of recipient seniors because the previous list had to be cleansed from those who have already died or have transferred residence to other places.
The sad thing, though, is that the list, already purged of those who should not be included anymore, ended up with several missing names after it was encoded at the CSSDO for payroll purposes.
The non-inclusion of several beneficiaries’ names is clearly a mess created by those tasked to re-encode the names in the list submitted by the barangays.
This omission could have surely been detected had the immediate supervisor of the ones encoding done their job of reviewing the encoder’s output. But apparently, there was no review. Thus, the omission persists.
So the expectation of many senior citizens was “gone with the wind.” Now the excluded seniors will have to wait for an indefinite period before the possibility of their being given their due will be realized.
