‘Isang ballpen ka lang’ C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 07/15/2010

‘Isang ballpen ka lang’

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 07/15/2010 \"Isang ballpen ka lang (You are just a ballpen away)” is how Sen. Tito Sotto derided the stance of newly appointed Customs Commissioner Lito Alvarez over his alleged fudging of his score in a recent golf tournament when we asked him to comment on the matter in our radio program Karambola over dwIZ. The comment, according to the Quezon City solon, actually came from his younger brother, actor and TV host Vic Sotto, who advised that he and his friends practice regularly to improve their game only to be confronted with people like Alvarez and company who “improve their game simply by fudging their scores.”  Obviously, he and his playing buddies are incensed by Alvarez’s attempt to make light of the incident which caused his suspension from the club and the dismissal of two caddies and one of Alvarez’s golfmate from his top paying job. Sotto noted that golf is a “gentleman’s sport as one tends to play alone and thus expected to be honest and play by the rules.” Emphasizing that scoring in golf is a true test of one’s integrity and character, lying about it is considered a “mortal sin.” “He should spare President Aquino any more problems as a result of this act of ‘plain and simple cheating’ by resigning now,” Sotto advised.  Well, even as Alvarez has gone on record as saying that he has explained himself already and asked that he be given a chance to prove himself at the Bureau of Customs, it seems Alvarez’s problems will simply not go away. In fact, even his threat to go after “influence peddlers” at the agency has fallen into deaf ears as a result of this one moment of indiscretion. And, as one observer noted, the more he explains himself the more he is digging a bigger hole. He has woven one tale after the other which has only eroded whatever is left of his standing. As Sen. Serge Osmeña III, advised: “Remember the biblical saying: How can you be honest with big things if you cannot even be honest in small things.”... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100715com5.html

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