“The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned, but time and chance happen to them all.”

  • Ecclesiastes 9:11

STRESSING THAT HOARDING OF RICE is a heinous crime, presidential cousin Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez recently led another round of surprise inspection of rice warehouses in Bulacan, with the alert operatives of the Bureau of Customs.

Earlier report of Maharlika Nu Media’s Benjamin Cuaresma said that Romualdez, along with Erwin Tulfo, a representative from the Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) party-list, and Alvin Enciso, the head of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), carried out impromptu inspections at rice warehouses in Balagtas and Boaue, both located in Bulacan on Wednesday, August 30.

I believe Romualdez made the right move in giving Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio the marching order that rice smugglers and hoarders must be sent to jail.

“Yun lang ang warning natin sa lahat. Kung anong supply niyo ilabas niyo agad, wag niyo hintayin tumaas ang presyo sa world market. Nagbabantay kami at babalik kami dito. Kung kailangang i-raid ng Customs, ipapa-raid natin at kukunin natin at ibibigay natin sa mamamayan sa tamang presyo,” the congressman from Leyte pointed out.

Last Wednesday, Aug. 30, Romualdez also gave a stern warning to local rice traders to immediately release the rice stocks they have in their warehouses.

Apparently, these rice hoarders are sabotaging the PBBM administration’s intent to bring down the costs of rice in the market.

Many Visayans, particularly the Warays, have expressed their pride in Romualdez as a decisive leader and “real action man” unlike those elitist politicians who — at this early — are more preoccupied with preparing for the 2025 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential polls.

As I wrote earlier, it’s been a while since the Philippines had a President from the Visayas.

Sergio Osmeña Sr, of Cebu, was already 65 years old and the country’s vice president when he succeeded as Chief Executive upon Manuel L. Quezon’s sudden death in 1944.

Osmeña served as the fourth president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946.

The second Visayan politician who became President was Manuel A. Roxas of Capiz.

Roxas served briefly as the third and last president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from May 28, 1946, to July 4, 1946, and became the first president of the independent Third Philippine Republic after the United States ceded its sovereignty over the Philippines.

Carlos Polistico Garcia of Talibon, Bohol was the eighth president of the Philippines.

After the death of President Ramon Magsaysay in March 1957, Garcia succeeded to the presidency. However, he won a full term in the 1957 presidential election.

Now, of all the possible presidential contenders in 2028, only Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez hails from the Visayas.

Is Martin Romualdez destined to be President in 2028?

It remains to be seen but as the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:11, “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned, but time and chance happen to them all.”

(ai/mnm)