Ducky Paredes

Malaya (12.27.06)

“Australia is one of the first countries in the world to celebrate the New Year, being the first major developed nation after the International Dateline.”

Celebrating New Year

by Ducky Paredes

My brother Jim will be celebrating the New Year much ahead of us. He is in Sydney, Australia where reputedly, the world’s largest fireworks display will bring one and a half million of its four million population to the harbor to celebrate the first day of 2007. Australia is one of the first countries in the world to celebrate the New Year, being the first major developed nation after the International Dateline.
My four children and three grandsons are in Hawaii, Missouri and Washington State. Of my ten siblings, one brother (Jake) is in Florida and two sisters (Tictac and Babsy) are in California and Oregon. Lory who is also based in California is spending the holidays with the five (Jesse, Me, Gabby, Meiling and Raffy) who are based in Metro Manila. We had a grand time in my only kuya’s house. It was a Noche Buena that was full of fun, silliness and laughter and a lot of good food and exquisite wine.
It’s great having nine siblings. I would not trade any of them for anything.
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According to the police, Christmas 2006 was one of the most peaceful Philippine Christmasses in a long while. But, how can this be when robbers dressed a policemen took over a mall (Ever Gotesco along Commonwealth Avenue) on Christmas morn. They disarmed the guards and took what money there was in the cashier’s office. After the robbers had left, responding policemen found themselves under fire by the guards (who had back-up guns that the robbers missed). The guards mistook them for the robbers who, the guards assumed, were coming back for more. Luckily, no one was hurt in the exchange of bullets.
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I believe that the time to initiate Charter Change has passed. It can no longer happen during the presidency of Gloria Arroyo. Charter change can still happen but only after the Arroyo presidency – whether this is through a People’s Initiative, Constituent Assembly of a Constitutional Convention.
All the steps that were taken to force charter change turned out to be wrong. Yo get amendments through, one has to campaign with the people who will eventually vote on the proposed changes. Without the consent of the voters, no amendments can take place.
The People’s Initiative (PI) was poorly thought and just as poorly done. Attempting another one immediately (because the Supreme Court has ruled that the law written to use people’s initiative is sufficient to amend the constitution) will again be the wrong way to go about it. Let tempers cool before starting another argument.
Remember that, although the SC found the law sufficient, it found many things wrong with the petition itself and the way that the necessary number of signatures were gathered. Going about it the exact, same way that the PI pushers did before will still not get the SC’s nod since the way that they did it (not the law) was what the SC found to be objectionable.
If a new PI will be undertaken, there must be more debate and a campaign to explain things to the voters. There must also be no hidden agendas.
I am foursquare for charter change but I realize that a lot of us are wary of approving changes in our charter. I can’t blame them. They just do not trust the proponents of change. The voters think that they want changes because this is the way that they can hold on to power for themselves.
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I have not voted in many of our elections. I was away for Cory’s election in 1986 and have not voted in any election since the election that followed.
Generally, even if I can sometimes praise some of our politicians for their stand on the issues, I have not found too many who can convince me that they are there to serve the public weal and not to pursue their own, private interests.
For the coming elections in May, I will not endorse anyone unless they can convince me that they will be there for others and not for themselves.
Politicians, like political parties, must stand on principle. Most of hose who present themselves to us represent only themselves. This is why we find our politicians going one way one day and the other way the next. They stand on no principle. Nothing guides them but popularity. How can this country move forward when we rely on leaders such as these?
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The Federation of Philippine Amateur Senior Golfers, Inc. (FPASGI) the largest grouping of Senior Golfers in the country holds its year-end tournament on December 29, 2006 at the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club.
This will have a shotgun tee-off at exactly 7:00 a.m. FPASGI members who will play elsewhere on that day can still join the festivities by coming in at 1:00 p.m. for a late lunch and the awarding of prizes together with a grand raffle. FPASGI members who will not play but will only join the lunch will also join the raffle. The tradition of the FPASGI year-end tournament is that all participants take home a raffle prize.
If you are a member of the Philippine Amateur Senior Golfers, Inc. (FPASGI), do come to Wack-Wack on that day. There are limited slots for those who will play golf but the rest are welcome to join our year-end celebration.
The Capitol Senior Golfers, Inc. is organizing the tournament, which this year is in memory of the late Abe Villanueva, who died this year and was, at the time of his death, Capitol Hills Golf and Country Club Director and FPASGI President.
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Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com,/blogs. This is updated daily. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@yahoo.com

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hvp (12.26.06)