Pictures may not lie, but they could also paint a thousand words, as the old song goes.

With Photoshop, one can even have a gazillion variations on a theme.

In this sense, finding fault in just one photo frame is futile.

Still, some people just can’t resist the temptation to embarrass public figures in their unguarded moments or when off duty.

That’s how the paparazzi profession came about. Voyeurs are bottom feeders, yes. But for some slimy bunch, voyeurism is a living. 

Is it any wonder then that there are those who desperately try to make a mountain out of a molehill with their demand that Political Affairs Adviser, Secretary Ronald Llamas be sacked by P-Noy or simply resign for having been caught on camera allegedly buying pirated DVDs from a Quezon City mall?

But what is the charge? What crime did the guy commit?

Let’s ask the optical media regulator. Atty. Coco Padilla, chief of the Legal Division of the Optical Media Board, the government agency that has jurisdiction over the issue of pirated DVDs, has clarified that individuals who purchase allegedly pirated DVDs for their own personal use do not face any legal liability.

If so, the OMB has no reason to file any criminal charge against Llamas under the provisions of Republic Act 9239 or the Optical Media Act of 2003,.

OMB chief Ronnie Ricketts also said the same thing in TV interviews. Read Ronnie’s lips: Only those who buy more than five or more copies of the same DVD are liable under the law because this means they are doing so for commercial purposes.

Critics of P-Noy, particularly those identified with the camp of Gloria Arroyo, are trying to capitalize on this issue not so much to pin down Llamas, but to demonize P-Noy himself.

Their logic goes: P-Noy has no right to invoke the Daang Matuwid as his subordinates are hardly exemplars of virtue.

In Llamas’ case, this is the second time he has come under the spotlight for supposed infractions of the law.

No too long ago, two of Llamas’ staff went on a joyride and failed to return an assault rifle that they were supposed to bring back to his residence after they had brought him to the airport where he was to leave for Switzerland to attend an important UN conference.

Llamas promptly sacked the erring staff, and subjective them and even himself to a full police investigation (something that officials of the past administration have never done) but that did not stop critics from going to town with the yarn that he possessed an illegal firearm, which was not true at all since the firearm was duly licensed by the PNP and was acquired for self-defense since he had received death threats because of the nature of his job.

The clear demolition job against Llamas and by extension, P-Noy himself, should not distract this administration from pursuing the Daang Matuwid.

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Sustainable or responsible mining is a not recent mantra for political correctness in the industrial sector.

Just ask one company which had been there and done that over half a century ago. 

The mining industry may be facing tough challenges ahead but there is a mining institution that has been in operation for over 50 years—their record proving that there is such a thing as responsible mining.

Ped Xing is talking about Philex Mining Corp whose wise stewardship of the environment is in the forefront of their advocacy.

Back in 1929, Padcal in Benguet was a barren and desolate area but decades later, it is now home to a bustling and self-sustaining community. Philex Mining Corp. made sure that as progress comes to this once-isolated community, its commitment to responsible mining will still hold true.

Committed to its advocacy of “responsible mining,” Philex Mining implements environmental programs in all phases of its mining operations—from exploration, mine development, operations and decommissioning—across all projects including Padcal in Benguet, Silangan in Surigao Del Norte, Sibutad in Zamboanga del Norte, and Bulawan in Negros Occidental.

The company’s environmental investments far exceed what national law requires. In 2010, about 5.5 percent of its total mining and milling costs were spent for environmental protection and enhancement programs versus the three percent to five percent required by law.

Apart from that, Philex is the first mining company in the counry whose Environmental Management Systems have achieved and sustained ISO 14001 certification. Likewise, the company’s Padcal Project was recently awarded as the “Best Mining Forest” at the Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference.

Since the launch of awards for Best Mining Forest in 1989, the Padcal Mine has won for the years 1991, 1994, 2000-2002, 2004, 2007,  and 2008. In Padcal, Philex  has reforested 2,000 hectares with over seven million trees.

You would think Philex’s environmental programs would only address the ecological care but an all-important offshoot of this is jobs creation.

The programs involved the need for foresters, deputized forest guards and regular reforestation personnel, additional manpower for forest protection and seedling propagation as well as for maintenance, grass cutting and fire-line construction.

Philex also advocates “vengineering,” a combination of vegetative and engineered erosion control and slope stabilization measures. They conduct it through vegetative mattings and tree-planting on the slopes.`    
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All of these could only mean that, indeed, there’s green in gold.