The National Telecommunications Commission in cooperation with Smart, Globe and Sun would do well to look into a long-standing scam obviously perpetuated by syndicates taking advantage of the gullible and the innocent among us.

The scam partakes of text messages sent informing this or that cell phone owner that he or she has won in a raffle millions of pesos. To get the prize, one simply has to call somebody (obviously somebody fictitious).

When the text receiver complies with the instruction to call a number and the one at the other end of the line tells him or her to proceed to an address, the victim is then instructed to pay up a certain sum of money, or worse, secures his or her account number in a bank to where the prize money will be sent.

When the alleged prize money isn?t sent, the victim calls the same number he or she earlier communicated with, and the person at the other end of the line says: ?Sorry wrong number.?

I have also been receiving the same text messages of my alleged winning. If I counted them all, I?d already be a multi-millionaire. But since there?s always one born every minute, the scam continues.

Santa Banana, something should be done about this. I?ve been getting complaints, and when I tell them to go to the police or to authorities, they refuse. I guess these victims must be so embarrassed to be known as suckers.

* * *

Over the weekend, I got hold of two memoranda, one dated Dec. 16, 2008 and the second one dated Dec. 18, 2008, on the status of inmate former Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romy Jalosjos, who was convicted of rape and sentenced to life.

The first memo came from the officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Corrections, Alfredo Benitez. The second was from Justice Undersecretary Oscar Calderon, director of the Bureau of Corrections. Both attested to the good conduct of Jalosjos while in prison. Thus, by law, the former lawmaker is now qualified for parole and release.

The second memo written by Usec Calderon addressed to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez confirmed Jalosjos? good conduct contributions to the rehabilitation programs of the bureau. Thus, it?s now up to Gonzalez to recommend Jalosjos? release from prison to President Arroyo.

Both memos attest to the fact that Jalosjos, who has been in Muntinlupa for the past years, deserved pardon and parole, and thus, should now be released since records show that his good behaviors and actions as an inmate are sufficient to cover the commuted sentence of 16 years, three months and three days.

Thus, it is now up to Gonzalez to recommend to the President the release of Jalosjos in the light of his good conduct and in accordance with the Revised Penal Code.

The New Bilibid Prison Classification Board noted that as far back as March 13, 2007, it had unanimously and favorably recommended the classification of 16 inmates, including Jalosjos, from the maximum security compound to acquire ?colonist status,? which was subsequently approved by then-Director Vicente Vinarao.

It is noteworthy that the recommendation for the release of Jalosjos from prison has this to say: ?Undoubtedly, the charisma of inmate Jalosjos as a leader has added more meaning to the various rehabilitation programs of the Bureau of Corrections. Through the Lamb of God Foundation, which he founded, many inmates benefited from training, skills upgrading, moral value enhancement, medical and legal assistance, which activities were sanctioned by the Bureau of Corrections.

?Of late, the Foundation served as a nucleus in the series of worthy activities during the 14th National Correctional Consciousness Week as shown in the attached accomplishment report...?

I?d also like to add that at his own expense, Jalosjos built a tennis court for the inmates and encouraged them to go to sports.

My gulay, if convicted murderers and illegal drug traffickers had been released from prison because of good behavior, why not Jalosjos?

* * *

Personally, I believe President Arroyo, in fairness and in justice to Jalosjos, should by law already release him.

The doctrine behind rehabilitation in prison is to enable inmates to become useful and productive citizens upon release. Considering the good conduct and the many rehab programs that Jalosjos contributed while in prison, there?s no doubt that his release fulfills the goals of the program.

Personally also, I believe that conviction of Jalosjos for life on the crime of statutory rape was more due to trial by publicity, considering the status of Jalosjos as a member of Congress, than anything else.

And to all intents and purposes, Jalosjos, being a member of Congress, media feasted on the case like vultures circling on their prey, so to speak, exacerbating public condemnation of the rape of a minor whose face and features were never seen by the public. My gulay, soon the lawyer of the alleged victim even ran for the Senate.

* * *

One of the biggest mistakes of former President Cory Aquino was the mothballing of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant Project, which was supposed to prevent blackouts in Luzon, especially in Metro Manila. Aquino hated everything that smelled of the Marcoses so much so that she mothballed the plant due to charges of kickbacks and corruption. And this led to the ?dark ages? of her successor, President Ramos, during whose term Metro Manila experienced 12-hour brownouts.

Now, there are talks of a $1-billion rehabilitation of the power plant to be led by Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, son of San Miguel top honcho ?Danding? Cojuangco. And Bataan representatives are all for it if the Korean firm undertaking exhaustive feasibility studies finds the BNPP safe and non-hazardous to the environment.

I recall that it was Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes who first suggested the use of the power plant to preempt the recurrence of brownouts in Luzon because of the growing demand for power. And why not if the project is feasible and safe enough?

Certainly, there will be those who will object to it. But my gulay, if the BNPP is also good for the usual critics and objectors, why not?

* * *

In several news items last week, the reported achievements of the Optical Media Board for the year 2008 were quite impressive?and even more so if one considers that the Edu Manzano-led agency had a miniscule budget and limited number of personnel. Good thing that the OMB is provided support by the PNP and the NBI in raids it conducts on replicating plants and distribution points.

The thing that strikes me about the pesky problem of piracy is the fact that notwithstanding the determination and efforts of the OMB, the problem refuses to go away. Of course, we must consider that the multi-billion peso illegal operation is backed by audio-visual piracy syndicates in China, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Their well-funded tentacles allow the use of ultra-modern high-tech equipment that can replicate DVDs and CDs by the thousands in a short time.

Perhaps, our legislators should look into the matter and check if existing laws are sufficient in the light of recent developments that always seem to be a step ahead of enforcement bodies. At the same time, the executive branch should be cognizant of the need of the OMB for a more realistic budget that will allow it to, at the very least, keep pace with the movements of the well-funded pirates.

* * *

There?s another aspect of this pesky problem of piracy that should not escape our notice, and it?s on the demand for pirated DVDs and CDs in public markets and even along sidewalks.

I?ve already mentioned the availability of pirated DVDs and CDs in malls and other public places. Really, there ought to be a law that prevents owners of these establishments from leasing out space to peddlers of pirated goods.

Thank goodness, my friend Edu is unfazed by the enormity of his task. At least, that?s half of the problem solved.