It is not enough that the former Executive Secretary who put Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian in his present sorry and miserable state, had fallen from power, for that was poetic justice.

The latter deserves to be restored to his previous duties. Not only is it a grave injustice if he remains in on floating status, but it is also a tragic waste as well if his expertise in agriculture science remains untapped.

The hostility between the Secretary of Justice Jesus Crispin Remulla and suspended Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag appears to be irreconcilable. The latter stands accused as the brains behind the slay of a radio commentator and an inmate in the national penitentiary who allegedly was the middleman tasked to hire the gunman. Police investigators have tagged Bantag and his deputy, Zulueta, as prison officials who orchestrated the double murder.

The SoJ committed a fatal but avoidable mistake when he took the findings of the police as the official position of his department. In several public statements, he positively declared that the double killing has been solved and that the evidence pointed to Bantag as the mastermind. He forgot that his department is mandated to conduct an administrative investigation to determine the existence of probable cause that Bantag may have committed the crime and that it may formally charge him before the appropriate court. Filing in court would mean the issuance of a warrant of arrest, after the presiding judge of the court, where the criminal complaint is filed, personally determines a probable cause exists to put the respondent in custody and face trial.

Bantag considered the actuation of the SoJ as a prejudgment of the presence of probable cause. He correctly argues that since the panel of prosecutors who are conducting the required preliminary investigation on him are under the direct control and supervision of the SoJ, they will necessarily not go against the official position of the Department of Justice as postulated by its head. Moreover, Bantag is also correct in saying that even assuming that the prosecutors resolve to dismiss the case against him, it is still the SoJ who will decide the petition for review filed by the complainant. And since the SoJ has already declared his (Bantag) guilt, the SoJ will naturally reverse the resolution of the panel dismissing the case.

Due process simply means it hears before it condemns. Since the SoJ has prematurely declared Bantag as guilty of the crime, the impartiality of the DoJ has been pierced and placed in irreparable doubt. An investigating body must be beyond suspicion of partiality. To resolve the issue of impartiality, another investigating entity should handle the preliminary investigation. The Constitution empowers the Ombudsman to investigate any public official when it appears that any act or omission committed by him/her appears to be irregular, illegal, improper, or inefficient. In the present case, the Ombudsman can assume jurisdiction and conduct the preliminary investigation.

Speaking of investigation, there was that investigation conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee of the previous Congress, headed by then-former Senator Richard Gordon on the purchase of vaccines by the government from Pharmally. There were allegations of corruption. It was alleged that the DOH headed then by former Secretary Francisco Duque III favored a supplier with no adequate capital. It was alleged that the company is owned by a Chinese friend of FPRRD. It was further alleged that the vaccines were bought at an exorbitant price to the prejudice of the government.

No Senate report on the findings was ever released. No person involved in the transaction has been prosecuted. There was an attempt to drag the names of Duque III, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, and FPRRD to the alleged anomaly.

The former President repeatedly challenged those who alleged corruption in the purchase of the vaccines to file the appropriate criminal cases, but nobody took the dare. The record shows the purchased vaccines were delivered to the government and the latter, in turn, paid the supplier. Both parties complied with the terms of the contract.

As to the price, it was found out that the purchase price level was the existing price of the vaccines when there was a global short supply hence, the price was much higher than when there was an abundance of vaccines in the market. As to the allegation of inadequate capital, it does not with jive with the fact that the supplier was able to deliver the vaccines. If it didn't have the capital, then the supplier company would not have been able to perform its obligation under the contract. Dr. Duque has been accused of mismanagement but it doesn't fly given that the previous administration's response to the pandemic has been relatively successful compared to some other countries.

Two foreign leaders in the persons of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are engaged in a test of wills. They are a classic case of an irresistible force fighting an immovable object. The stoic and bold Russian President Putin, invoking national security, embarked on what he thought to be an easy invasion of Ukraine, but the latter headed by a former actor, comedian, and an equally fearless politician who became its President, with the help of his NATO allies, mounted an incredible and so far successful defense.

It's been six months since the war began and counting. From the looks of it, the Russian army appears to be losing the battle as it retreated from an occupied Ukraine territory. The Ukrainians have exhibited remarkable resilience and courage in the face of a determined enemy which has unleashed a massive series of guided missiles resulting in the loss of electricity and water supply of their targets. Undaunted, the Ukrainian forces started to bomb the Russian territory in an aggressive counteroffensive. Meanwhile, there is no perceptible solution to the conflict and the continuing war of attrition between the two countries. And because Ukraine is an oil exporting country, we have been affected by it as the scarcity of supply of oil has hiked its price triggering the prices of all commodities and products reliant on it.

It is hoped that the two former members of the USSR smoke the peace pipe soon, even as we brace ourselves for a looming global recession.