All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. — Edmund Burke

And so evil has triumphed again.

The “haoshiaos,” or pseudo-journalists, overwhelmed the legitimate journalists in the National Press Club (NPC) election last Sunday. Many lifetime members harkened to the call and went to the NPC to vote and turn back the horde, but there were just too many of the enemy at the gates. It was like the Mongol hordes sacking the Christian countries.

The silver lining in the dark cloud was the sight of so many lifetime members, genuine, tried and tested journalists all, trooping to the NPC to try to save their club, for which I thank them. It warmed the heart to see many colleagues whom I had not seen in years there. Satur Ocampo and Bobbie Malay were there. Julie Yap-Daza was there. Rolly Espina flew in from Bacolod City just to vote. Another planed in from Davao. Joven Custodio came on a wheelchair. Joe Arazas, recovering from a kidney transplant, left his bed to vote. So did his boss Ed Santiago and his photographers in the Daily Express. Gus Villanueva, who doesn’t usually leave his Journal office, was there. So was Manny Benitez and Lucino Rebamontan and Rolly Estabillo and Julius Fortuna and Alice Colet (though not her hubby Oscar) and many, many others. The NPC should hold elections every six months, not once every two years, if only to have more frequent reunions of veteran journalists.

The number of lifetime members who voted was double that in the previous election. Still, they and the other legitimate members were not enough to stem the tide of pseudos. There are just too many of the latter. They have been preparing for this poll for the last two years by padding the voters’ list. It seems that everybody that the tabloid owners can corral, including their houseboys and drivers, are on the NPC list. Would you believe that three low circulation tabloids in the Bureau of Customs have more members than the three biggest national dailies: the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Manila Bulletin and The Philippine Star?

Winner Benny Antiporda has promised to cleanse the membership roster. Will he do it? Is he sincere? Let’s see.

Antiporda also promised, before the election, to return the lost Vicente Manansala mural. Now that he has been elected will he still do it? Let’s see.

Before I forget, let me offer my congratulations to Antiporda. I hope he succeeds in reforming the NPC and stop the decline that has been going on for the last several years.

In the speeches before the voting, there were many calls for “reconciliation” and “brotherhood” and for disgruntled members to return to their club, but that can only happen when the Antiporda group shows sincerity, when the mural is returned (the sale of which started it all), and the membership list is purged. That is the bottom line. That is the first step to reconciliation.

Remember, you have won a battle but not the war. And from hereon Big Brothers will be watching you.

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After raising fuel prices by P1.00 a liter, the oil companies announced that they would further raise prices by P0.50 a liter (at least) every week until July. That’s at least another P4.00 a liter increase. The reason given is to “recover” the costs of the skyrocketing price of crude oil. But how sure are we that the increases are reasonable? The Department of Energy (DoE) has been remiss in checking that. The Oil Price Watch used to do that, but it has been quiet lately. Why? Too late, the DoE has called a meeting to check the computations of the oil companies to justify their increases. They may be pulling our leg.

We cannot expect any mercy from the oil companies. Profit—and the bigger the better—is the fuel that drives them. But our government should have mercy on us, already battered as we are by the high prices of rice and other basic food items, electricity, medicine, and now fuel. And it can do that by lifting the value-added tax (VAT) on oil. If the VAT on oil is lifted, fuel prices will go down by P5.00 a liter. In other words, our government is taking a very big chunk of the dwindling money we are paying for our fuel.

Sen. Mar Roxas told the Kapihan sa Manila media forum last Monday that when the VAT on oil was imposed, its price was only $12 a barrel. Now it is more than $100 a barrel. So the VAT is really an added burden. It is time to lift this burden from the backs of Filipinos, Roxas said.

This VAT revenue will not be lost to the government, explained the senator, a former secretary of trade and industry. The saving will remain in the pocket of the taxpayer who will use it to buy other things for which they will pay VAT. The oil VAT revenue will still go back to the government in the form of VAT revenue on other goods. The government doesn’t lose anything.

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The Billiards Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) is furious at Senate President Manuel Villar. Villar has scheduled his billiards tournament, the Villar Cup, on exactly the same dates as the Mandaluyong Mayor’s Cup, an international tournament scheduled on May 6-11 in Mandaluyong City. What is Villar trying to do, lose the 2010 presidential election?

The Mandaluyong Cup of the Philippine Pool Tour organized by the BSCP has been in the sports calendar since February. The event is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiards Union (APBU) and recognized by the international billiards community. And it will be participated in by Filipino and foreign players.

The Villar Cup came out of the blue about 10 days ago, with much publicity and fanfare and with the Senate President posing eagerly for pictures. Its event dates—May 6 to 11 at the Villar-owned Star Mall in Alabang—fall exactly on the same dates as those of the Mandaluyong Cup. It is as if the Villar Cup was planned to steal the thunder from the Mandaluyong Cup.

(More on this later)