Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has reportedly submitted to President Arroyo the recommendation of director of the Bureau of Corrections and Undersecretary Oscar Calderon for the release of former Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romy Jalosjos from prison. The bureau found that Jalosjos, who was convicted to serve for life for the statutory rape of a minor, was due for release as of Dec. 14 last year.

Calderon, in a memorandum to the justice secretary, said that the total actual time that Jalosjos served in prison after his case became final and executory was six years, 10 months, with five years and 19 days of loyalty and good behavior. Jalosjos also has credit for preventive imprisonment under Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code, together with two years, nine months and 27 days as approved by the Justice Department in its resolution of Jan. 8, 2008 under Article 97 also of the Revised Penal Code. All these were sufficient to cover Jalosjos? commuted sentence of 16 years, three months and three days.

The basis for the recommendation of the bureau in granting ?good conduct time allowance?? were the facts that aside from Jalosjos? loyalty and good conduct, he led various rehabilitation programs of the bureau through the Lamb of God Foundation, which he founded. He also had various programs like building a tennis court for the inmates.

Personally, I believe Jalosjos has already served his time and since rehabilitation is the goal of the bureau, he deserves to join the mainstream of society.

Besides, Santa Banana, I believe that Jalosjos was more a victim of trial by publicity than anything else. My gulay, when you are in power, the odds are stacked against you.

But, the President must uphold the law, justice and give each and every Filipino a level playing field. That?s an aspect of leadership in spite of some objections that might arise from the release from prison of Romy Jalosjos.

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I have written many times about an information technology contract entered into by the Land Transportation Office with Stradcom Corp., which merited a House of Representatives investigation because of anomalies in its implementation or non-implementation. The probe also called attention to the need for Malaca?ang to have the contract cancelled because it was grossly disadvantageous to government and public interest.

Aside from the many points I raised then, there were other issues concerning Stradcom?s non-fulfillment of the contract provisions. Records have shown that the contract has not given the benefit as originally envisioned. It has not provided the agency with accurate information on transactions concerning stocks and sales of accredited manufacturers, assemblers, importers and distributors of motor vehicles.

Lately, the main computer of Stradcom broke down. This delayed the processing of drivers? licenses and registration of new and old vehicles with LTO nationwide.

Signed during the term of former President Ramos, the contract was primarily meant to address the problem of smuggling and the illegal registration of stolen vehicles. It also aimed to cut down red tape in the processing of documents.

I happen to be privy to how Stradcom got the LTO contract during one visit of former President Ramos to Canada, brokered by a former crony at that time.

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A performance audit conducted by the Commission of Audit disclosed that as of June 30, 2004, the contract was still not fully implemented despite a provision that specified full implementation by December 2000, or 18 months after the contract was signed with Stradcom.

The audit was done in February, five years ago. People now wonder by this time, implementation by Stradcom is already a hundred-percent complete.

My gulay, if this has not yet been achieved, something drastic has to be done about the contract considering that adjustments in the deadlines have been so generously granted by the LTO to what appears to be a favored contractor. This is the reason why I have asked and asked again, what love potion is Stradcom giving to LTO and Department of Transportation and Communication that it has become a favored contractor?

Another matter is the provision that would allow Stradcom, at the end of the contract, to take all its equipment out of all LTO offices nationwide, leaving the agency with only its database. That?s clearly prejudicial to government and public interests.

Santa Banana, without the equipment, the LTO?s automated project would have to revert to scratch as the agency will have to re-equip itself with the necessary facilities and operating systems?all of which would entail time and huge capital outlays. All these while Stradcom waltzes its way to the bank and lands more contracts all stacked in its favor.

Now, if you think that?s all there is to this deal, there?s yet another in the offing. A source from the LTO has leaked the information that Stradcom has received the LTO approval for another project that, this early, seems to be attracting controversy.

This has to do with stickers that will contain basic information about vehicles registered with the LTO, the kind of information that?s already present in all registration documents, such as motor and chassis numbers, color and model of vehicles. In other words, the sticker will merely serve to duplicate the vehicle registration papers.

The stickers will cost vehicle owners P300 apiece per year. Let?s say there are some 6 million motor vehicles registered all over the country. My gulay, this rip-off will give Stradcom a total bonanza of a whopping annual P1.8 billion! That?s money from vehicle owners from a sticker that is totally unnecessary since it?s a mere duplication of an existing document. I wonder who the genius that invented this scam is.

The sticker project, which I consider a ?stick-?em-up?? project, has already been approved by the LTO, but still awaits the blessings of Larry Mendoza of the Transportation Department.

We are crossing our fingers that Mendoza won?t give his nod. This new project is clearly disadvantageous not only to government, but more importantly, public interest.

Santa Banana, as if we don?t have enough scams and anomalies!

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More than cosmology or nuclear capabilities, education is what propels a country to greatness. I remember reading that Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler agreed on only one thing: keep the bombs away from the universities. Oxford, Cambridge, Heidelberg and Leipzig were under special dispensation from a fabled war council that insisted on keeping the tradition of education alive and well.

The first countries in history to have Nobel Laureates as citizens are now heading the European Union. Plato?s Academy has brought forth numerous halls of learning that contribute to the disciplines of philosophy, law, and other social sciences. It?s an observable fact that the way a country regards education greatly affects the way it functions as a whole.

Despite having a rather spotty history of education thus far, the Philippines has begun its journey on the road to greatness. The Education Department, headed by Secretary Jesli Lapus, has undertaken programs to bring public school education up from scratch. Like any leader worth his stripes, Lapus seems to believe that in order for the body to function well, the mind must first be taught how to direct.

Thus, early this month, the First Congress on Resource Management was held in Iloilo in order to upgrade the school principals? knowledge and skills on resource management, in accordance with the principles of what is known as school-based management.

This is one wherein school heads are given full authority to effectively manage their schools and raise the performance levels of their students. In order to do this, school heads must receive proper leadership and administrative training from recognized organizations.

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In 2008 alone, some 1,600 school heads were trained under the Excellence in School Leadership program, implemented by the department with the cooperation of Semeo Innotech. Santa Banana, instead of being at a constant disadvantage to expensive private schools, the public school system is now getting the attention it deserves!

Also benefiting from this new direction, 113 mid-level managers working for the department underwent a 35-day executive coaching seminar under the Philippine-Australian Human Resource Development Facility. In addition to that, DepEd has an agreement with the Asian Institute of Management where department officials go through a leadership development program that meets international standards.

With these steps, greatness can?t be far ahead for us Filipinos!