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(From Page 11)

his kindness and generosity to others will long be remembered.”

“Lourdes found out he was alive after the impact for a few seconds, so we are thankful he did not suff er,” said Robles Fernandez. “Police recovered his cellphone and eyeglasses, and are hopeful of fi nding fi ngerprints leading to the killer. We are seeking justice for Paul. Please share the news so the person responsible for his tragic death answers for it.” Anyone with information about the incident may contact Florida Highway Patrol at 859-484-500 or Fax # 850-484-5090. – Adapted from original reprinted with permission from Inquirer.net. Offl ine

(From Page 13)

In a large glass case, millions of pesos were displayed to show that they were not going to run out of cash anytime soon.

The tactic worked. Many of the depositors took the word of that president that their money was safe in his bank. It helped that he had a pretty sterling reputation in the industry, of course.

As banking editor, I also became aware that any potentially horrible news was met with the nuclear strategy of killing stories.

There were and still are two ways of doing this. One is to ask the news organizations’ top editors to not use the story, extending the request through the advertising department. The message is clear. Use it and we pull out our ads.

The worst way is to pay off reporters, editors and columnists, telling them what to write and what to deny. In eff ect, the newsmen become mouthpieces of the bank, or any large company that has a crisis in its hands for that matter.

Thus far, BDO has been able to keep the details of the online heist from the public. As far as the bank is concerned, it is business as usual. Those who did discover that a big chunk of their funds have gone missing are banking on the Sy family to make good their promise that whatever has been lost will be returned.

The question is, will the Bangko Sentral get to the bottom of this latest scandal involving the Philippine banking industry? More importantly, will the perpetrators be caught, charged, tried, and imprisoned?

We shall see, folks. We shall see. Brave Heart

(From Page 13)

Kalabasa Noddle Processing to boost the production.

This would create an economic activity which would open up jobs while at the same time provide the Filipino consumers with healthy and aff ordable noodles. Health & Wealth (From Page 12)

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PerryScope... (From Page 12)

That’s the fun part of it. Meanwhile, they start contacting their friends and ask for permission to carol on a certain day, beginning on December 1. On caroling days, they assemble in one of the members’ house and then they all travel to the host’s house together. At the host’s home, they form a semi-circle and sing using their songbooks. The caroling leader will give an extemporaneous speech thanking the host(s) for allowing them to carol in their home. Then the group sings for about 30 to 45 minutes. The group leader will speak again and call upon the host(s) to present them with a gift from the carolers. The host(s) will receive the gift and in turn present the carolers with an envelope containing some money. Normally, the host(s) have prepared a sumptuous buff et dinner for the carolers. After dinner, carolers thank the host(s) and make their exit, singing, “We wish you a Merry Christmas…” This routine is repeated about two or three times each night until December 23. Just imagine how much money the group would raise for the 13 days of caroling. They would then donate the money to their favorite charities or their parish church, leaving some amount to fund their own projects. Thus ends the time-honored ritual of receiving and giving gifts on Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, most Filipinos will wake up at midnight to welcome Christmas Day with Noche Buena, a feast of traditional Filipino Christmas dishes like lechon, hamon, queso de bola, spaghetti, and fruit salad.

Then on Christmas Day, a special mass called Misa de Gallo is held. It’s a celebration that includes lighting candles, singing, and sometimes a re-enactment of how baby Jesus was born.

Exchanging gifts is something that Filipinos; particularly the kids look forward to. Sometimes, gifts are exchanged on numbers picked from a bowl. So nobody knows from whom the gifts are from. So it’s important to select a gift that is gender-neutral because you don’t know who would end up with it. But to your godchildren – manitos and manitas – the aguinaldo that godfathers and godmothers give to their godchildren involve cash in an envelope, in addition to special gifts that they asked from them. It is customary for ninongs and ninangs to ask their godchildren what do they want for Christmas. And you’d better not disappoint them.

New Year’s eve is a celebration to welcome the New Year. Again, a feast called Media Noche is served. And as midnight approaches, everybody joins in making loud noises – torotot, sparklers, fi recrackers, and other noisy instruments -- when the clock strikes midnight. Young kids are encouraged to jump up and down so they’ll grow taller. Neighbors will bring out fi reworks in the streets and begin their noisy celebration. For about 15 minutes, the whole neighborhood is aglow with fi reworks – like the “bawangs” that produce a loud and dangerous explosion -- on the streets. Filipinos believe that loud noises deter evil spirits from entering the New Year, thus the noisier the better. Also, husbands and wives and their children kiss each other as a sign of aff ection.

And fi nally, the Feast of the Three Kings or the Epiphany. It’s commemorated on January 6th or the “Twelfth Day” after Christmas. The 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany are known as the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” But in the Philippines, it’s “128 Days of Christmas.”

Merry Christmas to all my PerryScope readers and have a wonderful and prosperous New Year! (PerryDiaz@gmail.com) On Distant Shore (From Page 12)

In 2015, the health secretary at the time allegedly diverted P10.6 billion of the PhilHealth budget to fund barangay health stations, rural health units, national government hospitals, and mobile dental vehicles. Also in 2015, at least six facilities made PhilHealth members undergo unnecessary cataract surgery even without informed consent, which led to bigger claims from the state-run insurance agency. In 2019, PhilHealth was alleged to have made overpayments of up to P154 billion for patients supposedly stricken with pneumonia from 2010 to 2018—with up to 757,000 claimants in 2018 alone when the Department of Health had not made any declaration of pneumonia outbreak. That same year, President Duterte ordered PhilHealth executives to submit their courtesy resignations after reports that the health agency allegedly paid out billions of pesos for dialysis of non-existent or dead patients.

An investigation by Rappler, which cited Commission on Audit documents, found that a ranking PhilHealth offi cial spent at least P627,293 of agency funds on accommodations, fl ights, and terminal fees on travels between her home in Bohol and her offi ce in Pasig City in 2017 at a time when the agency reported P8.92 billion in losses.

In June 2019, the Department of Justice indicted the owner of a dialysis center and two whistleblowers for 17 counts of estafa through falsifi cation of offi cial documents. The charges stemmed from an investigative report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer that said PhilHealth approved and released payments for dialysis treatments of patients who are already dead and patients who were yet to complete treatment.

Another major anomaly identifi ed during a Senate investigation was the alleged bloating of PhilHealth’s proposed information technology (IT) budget for 2020, which at P2.1 billion was P734 million more than the amount recommended by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The list goes on and on. Suffi ce it to say that PhilHealth is treading the path taken decades ago by Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and other government agencies that have long gained notoriety for graft and corruption.

That allegations of anomalies are coming at a time of a national emergency when every available resources should be directed at ending the pandemic make it even more a matter of major concern. A review of its systems and personnel must be carried out before it is too late.

Diliman way

(From Page 12)

his Congressman son being charged as being a part of the international drug Triad, the fi ve generals in his well publicized drug book – why has not PR D done anything to them? These are his companions Is PR D confi rming the saying – Tell me who are your companions and I’ll tell you who you are? Since they are PR D’s companions, will anyone please tell him who he is? No wonder the drug lords have gone scot-free and thousands of poor young drug users are dead. Are the users destroying the country? They only destroy their lives if they do not go through rehabilitation. PR D’s claim they cannot be rehabilitated is as false as his claims to accomplishments. But what about the drug lords – importers, manufacturers, distributors, facilitators and protectors? They are almost beyond rehabilitation because they are there for the money. By way of comparison, water continues fl owing as long as you don’t close the faucet. Since the drug faucet is not closed, illegal drugs continue fl owing throughout the country courtesy of PR D’s government. Pacquiao confession: Presidential candidate Manny Pacquiao admitted that when he was a kid – he did shabu and marijuana. He regrets it and he has gone over it. Good for Manny! But why has he not denounced PR D’s government extra-judicial killings. Once upon a time not so long ago, he was one of the lap dogs of PR D singing praises to his idol and master. But when PR D castigated him, he reacted but his reaction was tepid, if not anemic. And now he claims to be with the Opposition. Common, Manny, grow up kid. Show your powerful knockout punch and kayo PR D. But is the power still there or did it disappear with Paris Hilton? Lacson and Sotto: They claimed they underwent drug testing at PDEA and the tests came out negative. But that is not enough as both have extra baggage on illegal drugs. I still remember Rosebud charged Senator Lacson with involvement on an illegal drug incident. On Senate President Sotto, there was a mainstream media report that he had an involvement on an illegal drug activity long time ago. Both of them should clear the air on these charges and suspicions. Relevance: Illegal drug use is a major problem of the country coupled with graft and corruption. Were it not for corrupt offi cials in government, the problem of illegal drugs in the country would have been solved years ago. It cannot be solved because public offi cials from the highest to the lowest levels are involved in illegal drugs – from manufacture to distribution, from importation to protection, from police to PDEA, from Customs to Immigration, from local government to the highest levels of the Executive, from Congress to the judiciary. No traditional politician can eradicate this problem in this country. Why? It is the surest way to quick money – from millions to billions, enough to fund several presidential, senatorial, congressional, gubernatorial, mayoral or barangay chairman campaigns. The temptation is just too great to resist for our politicians whose major drives are – wealth, power and infl uence and sex. There is no hope for the people from them. The hope is system change. The only exponent for system change is the X-Factor. If he does not materialize and surface before the end of this year – the solution is not an election, it is something else. So I quote to you my favorite lines from a poem of Oscar de Zuñiga –“ “And I walk the streets rutted with mud holes Underneath a sky suff used with graying clouds And I feel I am coming to a house which only my heart knows.”