Free
falling
Less
than a week from now, on March 20, the Russian
Mir space station will crash back to Earth after
nearly 15 years in travelling in orbit.
The
derelict space station's suicidal plunge will
send it streaking in flames and breaking into
more than 1,000 fragments that will splash down
in the seas between Chile and Australia.
However,
some fear that the 130-ton object will not
totally break apart, with at least a
third surviving its reentry into the atmosphere.
Fragments as large as a small car could fall
into populated areas at one kilometer per second
or 3,600 kilometers per hour.
People
are also not putting much faith in scientists
who plotted Mir's reentry map despite
calculations that debris would fall into a
controlles crash site 3,276 miles long and 124
miles wide. They cite Skylab's case, which
rained debris on Western Australia in 1979 as
well as another
satellite which crashed in northern Alaska in
the 80s.
As
an Internet account of the development said,
debris could fall anywhere between 51 degrees
North and 51 degrees South latitude. This wide
target range for Mir includes the Philippines.
We'll just have to pray the debris falls on
candidates who do not deserve to be elected to
public office.
Gov.
Hector S. Sanchez must be in some heavy funk
this year.
Not
only had he committed that blunder regarding
Winnie Monsod, he also apparently issued a
memorandum detailing budget officer Boy del
Rosario to the governor's office for not
following his instructions.
As
to what instructions the gov issued, we do not
know. What the governor has learned lately is
that the detail memorandum is now the evidence
of a disqualification case filed against him by
Jun Verceles, who has acquired a killer instinct
in matters of local politics. Legal circles say
the case may not prosper, as the violation is
not among those spelled out in the Omnibus
Election Code as cause for disqualification. But
the governor's act is, indeed, an election
offense punishable by as much as six years in
prison, perpetual disqualification from public
office and deprivation of the right to suffrage.
Sometimes,
we cannot help but wonder whether the good
governor really has sincere and capable advisers
under his wing. Or is his skull really that
thick as to make him ignore the implications of
what he pronounces or does as a public official?
Let us wish our governor and ourselves some
luck. We will need it in the coming days.
The
propensity of our local officials to issue
memoranda detailing subordinates to other
offices is indicative of their disdain for civil
service rules and regulations.
Not
only does the detail of the subordinate, usually
a department head who is closely identified with
the chief executive's political nemesis or who
has ran afoul of his policies, disrupt the
normal operation of an office but it also puts
to waste the considerable amount of money spent
for the detailed official's salaries and perks.
Far from coercing the official into succumbing
to his superior's wishes, the former' virtual
exile into uselessness cements his desire to
avenge the slight. Hell has no fury than
an official stripped of his powers.
Now,
if the detailed official really committed
administrative errors or financial malfeasance,
all the superior has to do is form an
investigative body, charge his erring
subordinate of violation of Civil Service law,
and let the proces run its course. Not only are
detail orders on `disobedient' and politically
incorrect officials petty, it shows the weakness
of one's grasp of power!
In
behalf of the management of the Catanduanes
Tribune, we wish to offer our sincere
condolences to the family of the late Concon
delegate and RTC Judge Rafael Santelices, who
died last week of a sudden heart attack. May his
widow, Nang Pina, and the bereaved family
gain strength from the loss of their
loved one.
As
we celebrate the 21st anniversary of the
Catanduanes Tribune this March 14 issue, the
paper has a new columnist, CSC information
officer Gerry S. Rubio, whose piece
"Sketches" will appear weekly until he
gets tired of writing. Welcome to the club!
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