By Ben Contreras MY gut feeling is, there would be a major shake-up at the city hall soon and this is attributable to the 2016 elections. Short of loyalty check, this is to solidify Oca Moreno’s force against threats to his reelection bid. It is of common knowledge that the Moreno administration is wracked by division of loyalty. Those who can “deliver” (Moreno’s favorite word for loyalty) will find themselves holding sensitive positions that would pave for smoother operations, whatever that means. There will be new faces that may join the Moreno camp. For whatever purpose, they run the risk of being rejected by friends who dislike Moreno. A group of people were talking of the elections and would be candidates. After a lengthy conversation, it ended up in a choice of who the lesser evil is. Pirme na lang diay lesser evil ang atong mapili? Of course, not! Not if we stop to believe that elections should be all about money. That one cannot carry out a campaign without money. That one does not have a Chinaman’s chance to win without money. Take a closer look. We’re stuck in a rut. From one election to another, we only bother to look at candidates that have the money and the fame. And in the end, well, everybody knows what happens next. And then we complain, “Pareho ra diay gihapon.” And because we are resigned to this, we take consolation that one has done a lot, never mind how much one made shadily. ’Sus, milagro na lang nga nay makuha nga tarong. Let’s not believe in miracles when it comes to politics. One wins not because of miracles but because people elected him/her. A good man can be anybody; a businessman, a church man, a housewife, the man in the street or a mere worker. What is important is, we need to change our attitude in electing people. If we believe that this candidate is good, let us support and help him voluntarily. One of these days, I hope to tell you stories of what people can do when they believe in you.

••

The Kentex fire in Valenzuela City that claimed more than 70 lives was one tragedy that waited to happen. Government agencies tasked to inspect the safety and welfare of the workers have ganged up against the owner of the factory, putting all the blame to Kentex but them. The father of a lady victim said, “We just didn’t expect this to happen to her. My daughter had been employed in the factory since 2007.” It is then safe to say that this business has been in existence since 2007. What have our government agencies done all these years? Did they not notice that the factory is unsafe if indeed that was their finding? Did they not make this recommendation: Hey, you should not make those windows’ grills permanently fixed in place! I am inclined to believe that our government agencies have been remiss in their duties. It is when something like this happens that they blame everyone but themselves. I bet it’s not going to be the last.