Balikbayans say that when they come home, what they see here is farthest from what they read in Filipino newspapers in the United States and see over Filipino television.

Indeed the media stress negative news and breaking events, giving the impression to Filipinos and foreigners abroad that the Philippines is crime-ridden and violence-prone. ABS-CBN, for instance, shows images of crime and violence in living color. All the scandals in government are played up, too, giving the impression that all politicians in the Philippines are corrupt.

With media’s obsession over ratings, positive news take the back seat in favor of the negative. Indeed Philippine media is our own worst enemy.

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I must give it to the propagandists and publicists, some of them disguised as columnists, of Liberal Party standard-bearer Senator Noynoy Aquino for portraying their presidential candidate as a man of integrity, somebody who can carry on the legacy of his famous parents.

In his infomercial, Aquino is endorsed by movie and television personalities. But nothing is ever said about his competence, much less about experience and track record as a congressman and senator. Maybe because Noynoy has none.

And legacy? What legacy of the late Ninoy and Cory are they talking about? What did Ninoy do for country except get killed? As for Cory, her legacies are Hacienda Luisita, Kamaganak Inc., the Mendiola Massacre, the infamous brownouts and many other sins that prompted no less than nine coup attempts on her administration. Can Noynoy erase these from the pages of history?

So, what are Noynoy’s publicists peddling? Nothing, except that he is the son of Ninoy and Cory.

Noynoy’s handlers are skirting the issue of what he can offer if he’s elected. What will he do about corruption, poverty, insurrection and separatism? How will he manage the country’s political and economic problems? Aquino studied economics at the Ateneo but he has not uttered a word on how he plans to take on our fiscal and economic woes.

Clearly, Noynoy is capitalizing on the afterglow of the Cory Magic after his mother’s death. The question is whether Filipinos are that blind and stupid to allow their emotions to govern their decision in next year’s elections. I hope not.

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In a television interview with ANC, former Senate President Manny Villar, the standard-bearer of Nacionalista Party, talked about experience and competence. Villar was a poor man who became a multi-billionaire because of hard work and dedication.

And that’s what sets him apart from other candidates who claim they are champions of the poor yet have nothing to offer to the people except motherhood statements and promises that they won’t steal.

I’m not endorsing Villar for 2010. But I agree with him that a candidate must have more to offer to the people than his family background.

The presidency is not an on-the-job training. So while young people have passion and idealism, the office is still not for those who are too wet behind the ears.

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The protracted standoff between Customs, immigration and quarantine personnel at Naia and Mactan International Airport on one hand and the Board of Airline Representatives on the other over the issue of overtime pay may come to a head sooner than expected. Airlines, both domestic and foreign, still refuse to cover these employees’ overtime pay despite the fact that this has been the practice for the past 35 years.

I have been told that Customs, immigration and quarantine personnel at the two international airports have decided to stop working beyond the eight-hour period required of them as government personnel.

Since Customs is the one that opens doors for airlines coming in and going out, and immigration is the one that clears visas upon entry, the issue has international repercussions. And all because domestic and foreign airlines have utter disregard for the rule of law.

The crisis started when the Court of Appeals ruled that overtime pay for Customs, immigration and quarantine constituted “double compensation” and was therefore illegal. A motion for reconsideration was filed. Since the matter involved a constitutional question, it could even be elevated to the Supreme Court.

But the Board of Airline Representatives, headed by the Philippine Air Lines, decided instead to stop paying the overtime charges disregarding the fact that doing so was a violation of the rule of law. The Board has even demanded that the overtime pay should come from an additional $1 terminal fee, and that it should be government that should pay the overtime, which is an impossible demand since the national budget does not envision overtime pay for Customs, immigration and quarantine. The airlines even tried to offer paying only 50 percent—a clear slap on the face of Customs, immigration and quarantine.

Unless this crisis is resolved soon, the country’s tourism, attempts to attract foreign investment and its image are doomed to suffer. The President must step in. There is too much at stake.

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There’s something disturbing about the charges filed by the National Bureau if Investigation against cosmetic surgeon Vicki Belo for allegedly messing up a surgical job. At the core of the issue is the use of hydrogel during surgery. The patient claimed that she developed an infection on her buttocks after hydrogel was injected into her body. The butt enhancement surgery was done in 2002—that’s seven years ago.

In 2006, the patient went back to the Belo clinic when she noticed that one cheek was bigger than the other. Corrective procedure was done.

This year, or three years after the corrective procedure was performed on her, the patient went to St. Luke’s Medical Center for the pain she felt on her backside instead of going back to the Belo clinic. Doctors there reportedly found out that she had developed an infection, allegedly because of the presence of hydrogel in her body.

Observers question the amount of time between the initial surgery and the second visit. Medical experts say the acute infection found in the patient’s buttocks could not have possibly taken three long years to manifest itself.

At least, that’s Belo’s position. This is for independent experts to decide on. I am sure nobody from the NBI—not even the ranking officer who is said to be personally close to the patient—can give an expert opinion on the matter.

What is perplexing is that in the seven years the patient felt dissatisfied with the surgery, she has yet to file a formal complaint against the Belo Medical Group. What she has done, through her lawyers, was to send a letter to the clinic demanding the immediate payment of P200 million. Not surprisingly, the Belo group flatly rejected the demand, and that’s when the patient’s lawyers turned to media to sensationalize the issue. This move was easy enough, considering the celebrity status of Dr. Belo. Then a small group gathered outside the Belo clinic in Quezon City. One of the patient’s lawyers was repeatedly spotted in the picketing crowd.

It is obvious that the strategy of the patient and her lawyers is to use the media, a group of picketers and the NBI to fight her battle versus Belo. But the patient herself has yet to file formal charges. A cheeky move!