It's Lapid, stupid

IGNORANCE THAT we, being good Christians, should readily forgive.
That was one Born-Again fellow who had the misfortune of sharing my table at Starbucks, SM City Pampanga this weekend. It was a retort to my ribbing him of Senator Lito Lapid’s statement, translated to English now: “They say that the Capitol has so much money now, but where are their projects that should be benefitting the people? The people are in misery and not even a single sack of rice has come their way out of the Capitol.”
The B-A guy, of course, is an ardent supporter of Gov. Eddie T. Panlilio. And, true to his calling, he would not just let pass anything negative said of his governor.
Even as we forgive Lapid, as Christians too, we are duty-bound to take him out of his ignorance. So let me tell you this, with the hope of passing it on to Lapid and to his advisers for their enlightenment.
I will write it in my column, I told him. And this is it.
Yes, we have the money at the Capitol, thanks to the moral integrity and uprightness of Among Ed – all P413 million in quarry collections the past two years. For the first semester of this year alone, a total of P143,919,500 has been collected. From these sums, the rightful shares of both barangays and municipalities in the quarry areas have been religiously distributed.
So how much did Lapid and his son bring into the Capitol coffers in their 12 years of misrule in Pampanga?P155,626,000, which Among Ed could easily collect in seven months!
Wow, all those statistics at your fingertips?
As good Christian soldiers, we are ever ready with our arms for battle.
Yeah, I can almost hear the boom, the marching cadence --
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Victory over ignorance – not only of Lapid but of a number of the Kapampangans – is indeed the noble cause of Among Ed. The Kapampangan is in dire need of enlightenment. As you yourself said over both Infomax 8 and CLTV-36 not too long ago: E mu tatasan ing kamulalan da ring Kapampangan (Do not underestimate the gullibility of the Kapampangan).
Yeah, I said that in the context of Lapid getting elected governor three times by landslides of votes despite his own admission of being unschooled, in spite of the cases of graft and corruption filed against him and his suspension from office by the Ombudsman, plus the perceived wealth of his family even as the quarry income of the province suffered.
So, who are we now talking about? It’s Lapid, stupid!
Ouch! Ain’t we as good Christians supposed to refrain from uttering words that could hurt our brothers’ feelings?
No harm meant there, brother, just emphasizing a point a la Bill Clinton: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Remember? Anyway, Lapid asked about the projects of Among Ed? So I will indulge him:
In infrastructure development, the Capitol has invested P232 million for the construction and repair of roads, canals, government facilities, public schools, hospitals and covered courts.
In social development, Among Ed has allocated P31.5 million for health programs, P26.5 million for supplemental feeding and P92.7 million for the marginalized sectors, including the senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Another P22 million was spent for the Philhealth cards of over 10,700 indigent Kapampangans.
In the field of education, P3 million worth of assistance has been given to summer student workers and funded 7,940 government scholars.
The agriculture and aquaculture sectors got P41.9 million. While entrepreneurs were extended P6.15 million in micro-financing and livelihood loans.
There are the projects. You can assume from there the number of Kapampangans benefited. And alll these in just over two years of Among Ed’s administration. Now, for their 12 years at the Capitol, what have the Lapids to show the Kapampangan other than the Palaces in Porac and their fleet of sports utility and luxury vehicles?
That is not for me to answer. Ask Bernie Cruz, Lapid’s self-proclaimed spokesman. Ay, you won’t get anything there. I remember him being quoted in the media as saying the Lapid camp would not answer accusations of wrongdoing by the returning governor. Better ask Deng Pangilinan. He is more open, if not more rational. Meanwhile --
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise…