On Disaster Management and Lawmakers with Disaster of a Hairstyle (not to mention Bills)

On the frontpage of newspapers today is a certain Congressman from Quezon City named Winnie Castelo "urging the President of the Philippines to hold the post of 'Disaster Management Czar'". For a while, I thought he was a 'she' because the two Winnie's that I know, Winnie Monsod and Winnie Santos (Ate Vi's younger sister, in case you don't know) are both she's, but upon googling (is it officially a word now?), I confirmed that he is a 'he'. Anyway, I'm digressing. Uhmmm, pwede pong mag-Tagalog muna ako? Mas maganda kasi ang Tagalog kapag asar ka eh. I marvel at the logic of this man (mahirap tagalugin ito, so sorry). Ito ang balita sa Inquirer:

"The President can synchronize all moves to restore normalcy in emergency situations, and prevent infighting among public officials on search and rescue, relief and post-disaster rehabilitation operations, Castelo told reporters on Saturday.

The proposal was made following reports that officials of the two cities could not agree with initiatives undertaken by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Although Republic Act 10121, or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, names the defense secretary as NDRRMC chair, the key player is ultimately the President, Castelo said."

Teka muna, hindi ba ang Secretary of Defense eh tao lang ng Presidente? Ang Presidente ba eh walang power "synchronize all moves to restore normalcy in emergency situations, etc., etc.? So bakit kailangan pang gawing opisyal na 'Disaster Management Czar' ang Presidente? So paano kapag nagkaroon ng rice crisis, gagawing syang 'Rice Crisis Czar'? Paano kung nagkaroon ng 'Common Sense Crisis' sa Pilipinas (o sa Quezon City, for that matter), gagawing syang 'Common Sense Management Czar'? And so on and so forth.

This is the same lawmaker who filed a bill called 'The Anti-Planking Act', basically a bill that will incarcerate people who are lying face down, and another bill that would require a lotto winner to give up 20% of his winnings to charity(?). The only thing I know that can beat this in terms of magnanimity is the Anti-Farting Bill of Malawi. I don't know if he has other bills or jokes but I am interested in exploring. I'm a sucker for good jokes.

It is one thing to say something wrong or tactless candidly and later regret about it but is another thing to have all the time to think about it and yet still say the wrong things, or worse, propose a law.

In case you are wondering who this stand-up lawmaker is, here is a mugshot of him:

If there is one law this country needs, it's a law outlawing bangs for all men.

If I remember it right, Herbert Bautista, now Mayor, used to sport such hairstyle, but he has moved on. So has Justin Bieber.

And if you happen to live in Quezon City, be careful about sleeping in public places in prone position; you might wake up inside the city jail.