I wrote about the state lottery or lotto a few months ago and how it is an additional, and insidious, burden against the poor, who make up the vast majority of lotto players. It’s also a major source of funds which the Arroyo administration routinely dips into for questionable purposes. No proper, transparent audit is done of lotto funds. It’s a form of gambling which sustains institutionalized corruption .

Of course, all my pontificating about the evils of the lotto didn’t stop me from recently betting on the 6/49 Super Lotto draw, where the prize had grown to a record-breaking P249 million jackpot for the proper six-number combination. I didn’t win it, of course, otherwise I wouldn’t be blogging about it now. I would be at a remote premier island resort in Malaysia or Indonesia or somewhere, chuckling at the whims of fate while polishing off my second or third US$40,000 magnum of Lafite ‘45.

Instead, I’m in front of my monitor, trying to be philosophical about my failing to achieve my life-changing fantasy and plotting my next stab at instant millionairehood.

Everyone in the office, from the messenger to the president, bet on the Super Lotto as the pot got bigger. Of course, it was the messenger who had to stand in line for an hour or more with everyone’s betting slips. Life isn’t fair but, theoretically at least, everyone had an even chance of winning, from the janitor to the CEO.

As it turned out the single winner of the P249 million was from Novaliches, Quezon City. The lotto outlet which sold the winning ticket is located at a public market a block or so away from a co-worker’s home, and for days the neighborhood was abuzz with rumors as to who could have won. The winner wisely went under deep cover, fearful of being kidnapped or cornered by well-wishers expecting the traditional “balato”. Then, out of the blue, an unassuming neighborhood hog raiser and meat trader gave away all his livestock to neighbors and random strangers, and hurriedly abandoned his house. A lucky few close friends reportedly received tidy sums as a goodwill and farewell gesture before he disappeared for parts unknown. He has now become part of Philippine lotto lore, and his story will be clung to and retold by millions of future bettors hoping for that one, life-altering 6-number combination. Read the rest of this entry »

I never hid my dislike for Jun Lozada, based on his character and what I know of him as an operator when he was still with the DENR. This was a guy who’d arrogantly call for supposedly official meetings outside his office, in bars and restaurants, dine and drink his fill while behaving like a lout, then stick you with the bill. He has no sense of personal loyalty and has been politely described as a “man on the make” (and on the take, as he has admitted). As a whistle-blower, and civil-society “hero”, his whining self-righteousness is extremely irritating. He so obviously enjoys the limelight and his public statements during his recent “road tour” are characteristically pompous and overblown.

But I tried to separate the message from the messenger and gave him credit for speaking up, however reluctantly, on the ZTE broadband corruption scandal.

Now events have conspired to push him on a long slide to irrelevancy. First, the Supreme Court decision in Neri vs. Senate Committee has effectively stymied the Senate proceedings, his most effective platform. Worse, it has deprived the Senate of access to vital witnesses who would corroborate the allegations of Lozada and company, most notably Romulo Neri, as well as other Cabinet members and functionaries. Without a stage and most of the major players, this show can’t go on.

Then Cory Aquino, arguably the most popular opposition draw, and Lozada’s supposed patron and mentor on the path to rectitude, was stricken ill with cancer. No more Tita Cory to cuddle Jun and bring in the crowds. Read the rest of this entry »