THE official inclusion of the 8.2-kilometer navigable Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) as one of the world’s New 7 Wonders of Nature (N7WN) as confirmed by the New Seven Wonders of Nature Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 28, 2012 was a victory not just for the people of Palawan but also for Filipinos in general.

I want to congratulate Palawan Gov. Baham Mitra, Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn, officials and employees of the provincial government for their sheer hard work to meet the challenge with determination, strength, and total confidence in winning this international recognition.

As expected, the arrival of local and foreign tourists in Palawan will rise thus  underscoring  the need to improve and upgrade its airport and resort facilities to accommodate the visitors.

While celebrating this victory, it is unfortunate that Palawan is also being distracted by the recall petition against Mitra believed to be orchestrated by the camp of Jose “Pepito” Alvarez though the latter had denied having any hand on it.

Alvarez, a talented self-made tycoon who originally made his fortune in logging,  lost in the 2010 elections after Mitra who ran under the Liberal Party (LP) of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III garnered a total of 146, 847 votes or 52.05 percent of Palawan voters.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) should give credit to the complaint of Palaweños for good governance through its spokesman Bert Gabo who claimed that some of the signatories in the recall petition filed by the group Kilusang Love Malampaya were misinformed that they were signing documents seeking justice for the slain broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega and to oppose mining in the province.

Knowing Baham as a decent, courteous and well-mannered man whom I covered in the House of Representatives during his stint as congressman, I would say that the recall which accused him of compromising Palawan’s interest for allegedly accepting Malacañang’s offer of a smaller share in the royalties paid by the Malampaya consortium is baseless and unfounded.

I am not even sure if Mitra is receiving any help from the LP in this recall petition which is usually extended to a party mate.

From the last time I heard, Budget Sec. Florencio Abad has yet to release the Malampaya share of the provincial government.

The Comelec should not make a hasty ruling on this issue and must give Mitra due process.

In my short chat with him during a tree planting project at the House of Representatives where he was the guest speaker, he complained that Comelec issued the resolution in favor of the recall bid without even furnishing him a copy of the petition and giving him a chance to oppose it.

The recall petition is obviously meant to overturn the will of Palaweños because some elite individuals there are against his straight path campaign in accordance with the directive of President Aquino.

The people of Palawan should support their governor who is now fighting for the restoration of good governance and pro-people programs in the province.

Palawan residents must remember that their province is not for sale and should stand united in fighting the deceitful plot of a few self-interested politicians who are out to prevent Mitra from pushing a progressive, peaceful and prosperous province.

I just hope that the victory of Palawan’s PPUR will not be spoiled by the baseless and politically-motivated recall petition and let the will of the people prevail over the machinations of money politics.

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I agree with House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II that the very few senator-judges should stop their deliberate bashing of members of the House prosecution panel aimed at embarrassing the group in the trial of impeached Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Senators should treat the congressmen with civility and dignity because they were all elected by the people.

In several incidents, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, the lead public prosecutor, got the dressing-down over his failure to substantiate his request for the court to be more liberal to the prosecutors and his failure to give adequate answer on questions about the number of witnesses and documents  the prosecution intends to present.

If some senator-judges have been seeing a prosecutor as incompetent trying to embarrass the member of the prosecution remains baseless because  he or she is still entitled to be respected as a person.

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Greetings to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, GRACE-filled birthday Mr. President and good luck to your date with TV and radio personality Grace Lee, a Korean national who has found a place in the country’s entertainment industry.

I hope that a happy love life will inspire President Aquino to do more good things for the people.