Guamanians following blunder of Filipinos

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Many elected officials committed these boo-boos. They look stupid because they open their mouth without enough understanding of a legal question or topic or did not ask an advice from a lawyer or those who understand the law.

Here’s a city councilor who lambast the mayor who wants to build a government building in a lot donated by a resident of the city.

The lawmaker harangued the mayor in the media and the public meetings because there was no road going from the main highway to the edifice.

Son of a gun, did the councilor not hear about Eminent Domain, Expropriation, and Easement?

These three words are defined by laws where one can get a right way in going to the building.

EMINENT DOMAIN means the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation.

EXPROPRIATION means the action by the state or an authority of taking property from its owner for public use or benefit. 

EASEMENT means a right to cross or otherwise use someone else's land for a specified purpose.

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When I bumped into Dagupan City Mayor Belen T. Fernandez after her recent State of the City Address (SOCA) at the Stadia and told her about this pronouncement of the councilor and quoted by a national daily, she told me the District Congressman Toff de Venecia has appropriation of P73 million for the highway going to the proposed new city hall.

“There is a road leading from the national highway to the city hall, how can there be none?” she told me.

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I remembered the Philippine History Book authored by

Teodoro A. Agoncillo I taught in college in the 1990s when I read on the online news that people in Guam wanted to break away from the United States’ tutelage.

 Philippine Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico were sold or ceded by a weakened Spain because of war in 1898 to the growing global power United States, making the three colonies of the United States.
 Philippines under Commonwealth Government (OJT government) of President Manuel Quezon who wanted to leave the U.S. A with a political cry: "I'd rather live in a country runs like hell by Filipinos than a country runs like heaven by the Americans!".

Quezon, whose ambition to be president of an independent country was palpable, wished was granted by the U.S after World War II in the middle of the ashes left by the belligerents.

 Filipinos lived since that time in Hell. What with the U.S cutting all the free tariffs of Philippines exports to the U.S and people in Sugar Land Negros, who crowed about unlimited wealth during the protectionism era, can attest to that.

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Now Guam wanted to be liked Quezon:
Here's one of the blunders to be committed by the people of Guam: "In addition, many in Guam are heavily dependent on US welfare, with about 44,900 individuals and 15,650 households receiving food stamps and public healthcare benefits"
With Guam opting for independence and the country runs by the native Chamorros, cry your hearts out minority Filipinos and Americans there, would Guam be a "heaven runs by Guamanian or would they become a version of Philippines Guimarasians?

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 Here was what I posted as reaction on that Philippine Daily Inquirer’s report (whose owners enmeshed with tax evasion cases and others decided to sell their majority ownership of the broadsheet) on the Guam’s brouhaha in the vernacular ala pang radyong kumento:

"Pero pag nag compromise daw ang 30% Pinoy sa Guam sa mga other nationalities like Japanese versus the 40% Chamorros, baka Pinoy daw maging President ng Guam. Diyan na masisira ang Guam, papasok na ang Jueteng, Video Karera, Drop Ball, at Perya, tupada at mga substandard government project na may 20 percent S.O.P mga senators at congressmen at mga tag 10% SOP public works at mga mayors, governors doon. Mag se-self destruct na ang vaunted Republic of Guam. Maging hellish na ang buhay nila tulad ng tangang kapatid nila sa Pinas na pinili ang independence kesa U.S protectionism na langit dahil mi Welfare na pensionado ang mga tamad at walang trabaho”.

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)