Sacked Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Arnell Ignacio, a popular singer-comedian before he became a government appointee, insisted on Friday, 23 May, that the P1.4-billion land acquisition transaction that caused his summary removal from office was legal and aboveboard.

The singer-comedian has quietly met a small group of media people mainly to make that assertion. It’s okay that we were not among them but we are impressed that he neither blamed anyone for his summary dismissal nor demanded for his reinstatement.

The small media huddle was held a week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed then-Migrant Workers Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne Caunan as new OWWA chief. 

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac had confirmed that Ignacio was removed over his involvement in an allegedly anomalous land acquisition deal that did not go through the OWWA Board of Trustees.

According to Ignacio, he was “shocked” to hear of the allegations because there were official discussions on the transaction in the Senate and the Department of Budget and Management stretching back to 2018, when he was OWWA deputy administrator under the Rodrigo Duterte administration.

“Sinunod namin ang lahat ng mga requirements, at ito ay nakapasa, nabigyan kami ng special allotment release order at nagtuloy-tuloy ang proseso hanggang sa na-acquire ‘yung lupa, (We followed all of the requirements, it was approved, and we were given a special allotment release order, and the process was smooth until we acquired the land)," Ignacio said.

He categorically said that the deal was brought up with the board, where a technical working group assessed it as well. Cacdac was involved as chairman of the board. Ignacio said that there were no missteps found, and the transaction had adhered to the right-of-way law.

Ignacio later posted on his Facebook page that they had bought the 6,499-square meter lot near Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay to be a “paradise” for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The news website Rappler revealed that they found out that the piece of land was meant to be an OWWA office that would also serve as a halfway house.

Ignacio said that the Land Bank of the Philippines had assessed the value of the land, and the OWWA under his leadership had a permit from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to build on it. The land is also under the name of the Republic of the Philippines.

Ignacio then reportedly intoned at the media huddle: “But let me tell you, to the OFWs I have been serving, hindi ko kayo pinagtaksilan. Ginawa ko lang ito para sa inyong pagmamahal at wala po akong kinita dito (I have not betrayed you. I only did this for your love, and I did not earn anything from this).”

On the other hand, Cacdac said on Tuesday, 20 May, that the Department of Migrant Workers was eyeing filing appropriate charges related to the transaction. He has yet to respond to Ignacio’s statement as of this writing.

May the truth prevail in this alleged anomaly involving a showbiz idol who has so far served the government the longest.

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A gadget, porno and a transman

What would you do if you come home one fine night and chanced upon your partner watching porno on a gadget?

Go ballistic, that’s what Stella did. She immediately accused husband Mitch of not being happy with her in the bedroom.

Mitch’s ultimate one-sentence justification is “I want to become a real man.” 

Mitch is a transman who has been longing for a sexual re-assignment but has always hesitated  to tell Stella about it.