The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth. — Danish physicist Niels Bohr
MAYPAJO, Caloocan City — It appears that our former governor from Ilocos Sur, Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson, has unwittingly played a gambit that has backfired and is now hinting on some form of senility.
We’ve taken it as a sign of his overripe maturity and in the past weeks or so, some people and even those from his own camp have noticed him to be putting his nose in affairs and issues that apparently he has a lack of knowledge and even no concrete evidence at all regarding what he is talking about.
A glaring fact was inadvertently seen when he guested in a television interview where the topic being tackled concerned the government’s controversial flood control initiatives but in some unexpected twist, our ex-governor friend insinuated details on small town lottery in his home province. It surprised everyone as STL didn’t have any connection with infrastructure developments being implemented by the government.
Still, in what could be a sign of respect to our friend who is a senior citizen, the program host allowed their guest to continue ranting about STL and how its operations in his province were forfeited.
And Manong Chavit blamed this on the First Lady, Marie Louise ‘Liza’ Araneta-Marcos, whom Mr. Singson claimed meddled with the operations of the Philippine which issues and at times takes back the license given for STL in a certain area.
It was obvious that the ex-provincial chief executive of Ilocos Sur didn’t like the sweet wife of our president and also blamed her over the revoking of the license of STL even without proof and with many stressing that President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.’s wife never did interfere in the management of the PCSO.
Also, everyone knows that the PCSO is being well-managed by GM Melquiades ‘Mel’ Robles with the help of Board chairman and retired Judge Felix Reyes.
And because of their efficiency, the PCSO have received awards and recognition from several private and public entities and organizations.
But before moving on and since we have touched about the importance of evidence in this matter, we ask why Manong Chavit is determined to bring out the issue of STL operations in Ilocos Sur when in fact he’s not among those behind S Grande, the lottery’s Authorized Agent Corporation (AAC)?
On official documents, S Grande is composed of Messrs and Mdme Felicisimo D. Artajos (chairman), Herminio R. Libao (president), Maria Elena C. Arce (treasurer), Gilberto J. Ramos (corporate secretary) and Miguel R. Reboldela.
So, who is now the dummy? Is it Manong Chavit ba or the officers on record? Either way, it is against the law and PCSO’s IRR to have a dummy.
And if in this case the good ex-governor claims he owns S Grande, why is he then lambasting the government?
It is a privilege to have an STL license and because it is the government he is dealing with, there are responsibilities stipulated under the law.
In truth, the real problem here is that Manong Chavit thinks he is still the king of the hill in Ilocos Sur and this is the reason why he gets mad when he doesn’t get what he wants!
And we’re talking only about STL, what if we tackle the issue of the allocation of tobacco excise taxes?
Still, let’s go back to the issue of STL. It is clear that Chavit’s gambit went awry when he accused the First Lady of being the instigator in the revocation of the license of STL operations in his province. Add to this the fact that he has no business in STL in Ilocos Sur, based on the documents we have collated.
This should serve as a lesson to our brave ex-governor. The next time he again makes accusations and criticizes anyone, he should ascertain that he has the receipt or evidence to prove he is telling the truth.
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