THE POOR, THE TAXPAYERS AND THE THIEVES. written by Pier Angeli Ang Sen All our lives, we were made to believe that our country is poor because Filipinos are lazy. Kaya mahirap ang Pilipinas, dahil tamad ang Pilipino. We were made to think that we are poor because of our own doing. We, The Filipino people believed all that. Then, The Commission on Audit released a special report that a staggering amount of 6.156 BILLION PESOS was poured into 82 non-government organizations that never existed. SOURCE: rappler/nation/36609-coa-special-report-pdaf-misused ( all those money unaccounted for, just like that. ) While corrupt lawmakers of this country shamelessly believed thatthis monstrous amount of money was all theirs to spend. When every single centavo of this pork barrel ( euphemistically referred to as, The Priority Development Assistance Funds or PDAF) was contributed through taxes, by every single hardworking Filipino. We Filipinos, seemed to have been under mass hypnosis of sorts, for too long. ( Naniniwala ka pa rin bang mahirap tayo dahil tayo ay tamad? ) Let us wake up from that fallacious belief. We are not poor because we are lazy. We are anything but lazy. We are the most hardworking group of people in the world. Havent you seen our kababayans from call centers, who braved flood waters during the habagat, just to get to work? It was all because they had to be of service to clients, calling from all around the globe. How about our industrious countrymen abroad, who are highly praised by other nationalities? What do the world say about us? What will the world do without Filipinos. They have nothing but words of admiration for our Overseas Filipino Workers (O.F.W.s) : Our domestic helpers. Our hotel workers. Our I.T.s Our sailors.MOSTLY WE BELONGED….. Our nurses. Our caregivers. Our teachers. Our engineers. Our entertainers. My country is poor because of our corrupt officials, no more, no less. No matter how much hard work we put into our jobs and how much taxes we pay, we still remain poor. It is because we have been betrayed by these corrupt government officials. Do not not even dare call these corrupt officials, Filipinos. They had long denounced their right to be Filipinos, the day they pinched that single centavo from the peoples money. They are traitors to the country. Do our corrupt officials, actually know the faces of the Filipino poor? Most of them happen to be children. THE CHILDREN who scavenged through mountains of trash, while deprived of that right to food, shelter, health care and education. THE CHILDREN whom they should have provided with more school buildings, better health programs, housing and nutrition. THE CHILDREN who now live on streets and are exposed to different kinds of abuses that one could only imagine. THE CHILDREN whom they should have fed, clothed and given a bright future to look forward to, through the P200 million ( for senators ) and P70 million ( for congressmen ) worth of P.D.A.F., they received. Yes, my country is rich in natural resources but filled with really poor people. What else is my country filled with, aside from the poor and the working class taxpayers? - Senators who think that it is not their main concern if therecipient-NGO was a bogus one or not. ( If they really protected the interest of the people and for round and about one million pesos worth of money involved,they could have made it their main concern.) - Congressmen who create NGOs that are funded and spearheaded by their own families. ( which is why, they do not know or need not to know, Janet Lim Napoles.) - Generals and military men whose pocket money when leaving abroad, could have paid for the tuition fees of hundreds of students. And so that students, like sixteen year old Kristel Tejada, would not contemplate in taking their own lives. - Government officials with dollar accounts that would put royalty to shame. - Congressional spouses who appeared during the Presidents SONA in designer clothes, bags, shoes and jewelries. - Various houses owned by our officials in Ayala Alabang, which would be enough to accommodate twenty homeless people. And they dont even have goosebumps,the least? What again was it they said were the reasons, that devastating tragedies like HABAGAT, ONDOY and SENDONG happened? Aside from the rainfall values of the monsoon and the strength of the storm itself, we are told these: Overpopulated metropolis, Informal settlers, Professional squatters and People residing on flood plains. But why were those people there in the first place? They have no place to go. While corrupt officials in my country own various mansions, villas and rest houses that could accommodate those people. All those floods that killed our countrymen were caused by: Encroachment of the river banks, Insufficient drainage systems, Inadequate garbage disposal system, Silted rivers, Blocked tributaries and illegal loggers/miners. And all of which could have been addressed by those corrupt lawmakers. I was there the day after SENDONG happened. I was stuck in the house while HABAGAT and ONDOY arrived. A few days later after each of those tragedies, I would find myself in front of the television set, CRYING my heart out. I saw bodies of my dead countrymen pulled out of debris, in a heart wrenching state. And even until now, I cannot get over those images of helpless and heart broken parents, hugging the small DEAD BODIES of their children! I was crying my heart out, as a parent. But I was crying most especially because I knew, I could not do anything for them. BUT THOSE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND SIX BILLION PESOS, COULD HAVE MADE A GREAT DIFFERENCE. The large amount of money in PORK BARRELS that our newspapers are talking about, could have changed everything. How many housing projects could it have actually build for our so called informal settlers? How many hi-tech gadgets and instruments could it have bought for P.A.G.A.S.A.? How much would have it meant, for the waste management and garbage disposal system? How much could it have made, in fixing our drainage systems? How much of that large amount of money, could have helped in preventing encroachment of the rivers and unblocking useless tributaries? Thousands of our countrymen would have not perished. Lives would not have been even sacrificed. Even before those tragedies occurred, many of our kababayans did not even have food on their tables and houses to call their own. They were already part of a bigger and devastating tragedy. The tragedy of corruption. These corrupt officials did not just steal money from the poor, they killed many of our countrymen by starving them and leaving them to die. These corrupt officials should not only be tried for corruption, but for murder too. I used to be forgiving when I hear my corrupt government officials say, WAG NAMAN I-ASA SA GOBYERNO ANG LAHAT. And you hear of these large amount of money floating around, like our country is not one of the poorest country in the world. We are a country that boasts of beautiful islands and people. We are talented, passionate, loving, industrious, hardworking, intelligent and TAXPAYING working individuals. Other nationalities are amazed at our endearing traits and even our artistic talents. THEREFORE, from now on, I am blaming corruption and these corrupt officials for anything and everything that had happened to my country. 1. The lack of funding for promising athletes. 2. The lack of funds for schools, for teachers, for books for everything that would have made many poor Filipinos, literate. 3. The lack of housing, food and jobs. 4. The floods that drowned many of our countrymen. 5. The tragedies that were made even more difficult, by congressmen and mayors who pocketed calamity funds. 6. The tragedies at sea, that were made even worse, by corrupt personnel who had allowed overloaded ships to embark. 7. Those ships that collided at sea, because uneducated skippers were employed. While our corrupt officials left OUR BEST SAILORS no choice, but to go abroad. 8. The young and courageous soldiers who were killed in battle because of under par armaments and sub-standard equipment. 9. Our Muslim brothers who were forgotten by these corrupt politicians. 10. Our OFWs who were raped and treated like animals abroad. 11. The babies with shaken babies syndrome who are left to the care of crazy nannies who maltreat them, in the absence of government day care centers and mothers who had to earn a living. 12. Our poor countrymen who chose to be massacred in SABAH, rather than come home. ( -where nothing awaits them.) 13. The number of families who are divided by continents because family members had to work in other countries. 14. The homesickness that our kababayans who are striving abroad, had to endure. 15. The countrys brilliant minds who are serving other nations when they could have taught our children. 16. The innocent children, who may turn into angered criminals someday, because of lack of basic needs, education and proper guidance from parents, who were always away, looking for ways to feed them. Today as a Filipino, I am broken hearted because I may have something to do with the plight of my poor countrymen, I voted for those thieves. I was once led to believe that they love my country, in the same way that I do. I am angered and enraged by these corrupt politicians who lived glamorous lives, while many of the children in my country are dying and starving. How can one even think of robbing from the poorest of poor. While many of us, hardworking taxpayers shared some of our hard earned money through taxes. We thought that our taxes had at least helped, alleviate the living conditions of our countrys poor deprived families. These corrupt officials and their crimes must not be left unpunished. Let this not be one of those plunder cases, all forgotten, five years down the road. Let our Ombudsman and Department of Justice prosecute them. They have to answer to every Filipino -to every enraged Filipino like myself! PUSO, PILIPINAS!
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 16:41:45 +0000
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