Lies, Guns and Boxing

by Ducky Paredes
from MALAYA

“The Ghanian fighter, bigger, heavier and with a longer reach than Pacquiao is a boxer who would rather lose than have to actually fight to win his bout.” – Ducky Paredes

There is a need to study which of the tales that our Presidentiables tell us during the campaign are true and which of their promises and grand ideas are workable. Certainly, not everything that they tell us has to be true. In fact, some may even be outright lies; but politicos will tell us what we want to hear and what we expect them to say.

The reason for the need is to protect the ignorant voter – you and me – from himself by preventing him from voting for the wrong person for the wrong things.

Who can best do this? It ought to be done by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) so that we can be sure that what we are reading about the presidentiables is not political propaganda. We need an unbiased look at the presidentialbes and is closer to the truth than anything written by columnists who may be backing specific candidates.

Then, at least, when one still votes for his chosen candidate, he knows exactly who or what and why he is voting for Candidate X.

One candidate retails an improbable life story that is actually attracting a lot of voters to vote for him. Are we in danger of voting again for another Ferdinand Marcos who sold us a fairy tale and won as our President. We eventually found that we had been hoodwinked by someone we accepted as a prince who turned out to be a terrible monster who ate up the dreams of the children of one generation.

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As a senior citizen, I have no real objection to the proposal of the Department of Finance to transfer the issuance of senior citizens cards from local government units to the BIR. This is understandable because these cards affect tax collections and are easily faked since every municipality prints its own cards.

What I object to is the idea that every exemption to any taxes being viewed by the BIR as leakages and/or losses. In the present case where a new law has been projected to amount to P1.68 billion in exemptions, the BIR rightfully argues that fake cards could run up double the amount in lost revenues because they are so easy to fake. That is a reasonable attitude and, for that reason, the DOF’s new IRR (implementing rules sand regulations) ought to prevail.

I actually have a friend who will legally qualify for his senior card only this year who has been enjoying senior privileges for almost a decade.

What is my objection to our finance people calling exemptions losses? If something makes taxpayers happier and allows them to live longer, I believe that this increases their tax-paying years and actually increases over-all tax collections, instead of decreasing them.

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Vice Presidential candidate Edu Manzano has a suggestion for more effective gun control.

“We need more aggressive controls on impounded firearms, including those seized during the five-month election season gun ban, to prevent their recycling back into the crime realm. Immediately after documentation for prosecution evidence, the impounded weapons should be properly allocated to the military, the police or other law enforcement agencies. This way, we prevent their misappropriation,” Manzano said.

Edu takes his clue from the way that seized illegal drugs are handled. He says that all seized firearms should be entrusted to a central depository, in the same manner that all confiscated illegal drugs are deposited with the Dangerous Drugs Board.

“We already have rigid controls on the disposition of seized drugs. We should have similar checks with respect to impounded firearms,” says Manzano..

According to Camp Crame, it has so far accounted for only 683,502 pieces or 62 percent of the estimated 1.1 million loose guns nationwide. That leaves

“With some 416,000 pieces still unaccounted for, this leaves us with at least four loose firearms amid every 1,000 Filipinos,” Manzano said.

The guns accounted for include 59,221 pieces listed in the recently concluded amnesty program. The licenses of another 201,989 pieces were also renewed.

As of March 9, a total of 1,123 firearms as well as 221 grenades and explosives had been seized in connection with the nationwide poll season gun ban from January 10 to June 9.

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The Associated Press story of the fight began with this: “Manny Pacquiao dominated a strangely passive Joshua Clottey from the opening bell.” Strangely passive? No way.

The Ghanian fighter, bigger, heavier and with a longer reach than Pacquiao is a boxer who would rather lose than have to actually fight to win his bout. It was clear to him that if he was to win, he had to fight for it and he just did not have the heart to do so. His handlers, at one time, are heard telling Joshua to begin fighting, that the way he was going, he would lose the fight. But, Clottey was afraid to engage Manny mano a mano.

Instead of actually engaging Pacquiao, he kept his defenses up, covering his face and chin with his massive fists. For a few seconds each round, he would actually throw a few punches; then, his hands would be back again to his chin and face’s defense.

Thus, for round after round, Pacquiao would hit Joshua’s body and his gloves and ears. At one point, Manny actually playfully punched both ears of the Ghanian at the same time in the middle rounds of the 12-rounder. Manny threw ten or more punches for every one of Clottey’s.

Manny Pacquiao is the best boxer of the decade and the best pound-for-pound. If he never gets to fight former best pound-for-pound boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (who has a similar defensive way of fighting as Clottey), it would not be much of a loss to the boxing world. Manny wants the fight; Mayweather makes excuses and imposes silly conditions.

The better fight would be if Shayne Mosley beats Mayweather on May 1 and then agrees to fight our champion. During Mayweather-Mossely, our champion will be in the thick of a bigger fight which is way out of his league and which he would more probably lose — trying to get enough votes for himself to be voted on to become the congressman for Saragani Province.

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hvp 03.15.10)

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