These days, anger and indignation are in vogue. In late July, we heard the story of how lawmakers connived with fake organizations to pocket money supposedly for the development of their districts. Soon after, social media exposed the criminal opulence enjoyed by the family of the businesswoman allegedly behind a multi-billion peso scam. Filipinos—especially those with access to information and social media—were outraged enough to express themselves through a protest march across various locations in the country last week. The resounding clamor was for the abolition of the pork barrel system. The President, attempting to pay lip service to those he claims are his bosses, said he would do away with the Priority Development Assistance Fund and put in place a better “mechanism.” He never mentioned anything about the rotten system which feeds on and breeds political patronage in our society. He never mentioned what he was going to do with his own discretionary fund. He never talked about how a report by the Commission on Audit also included personalities friendly to his administration. What was highlighted was the participation of mostly opposition lawmakers in the malevolent scheme. He never shed light on how exactly pork barrel was used by himself and his colleagues when he was, himself, a lawmaker. The President’s spin doctors tried to portray the President as being on the side of disgusted Filipinos. After all, did not Mr. Aquino run and win on an anti-corruption platform? What we see, however, buttresses our belief that political orientation is incidental to greed. The circumstances surrounding the arrest and detention of the businesswoman remain murky. It hardly gives us comfort that this administration is on the side of no one but the truth. We want to see, likewise, an audit of the PDAF during the first three years of the Aquino administration. Everybody linked to the ghost NGOs cries foul, claims political harassment, says it is not his job to check credentials, and mouths standard lines on how the truth would eventually come out. Everybody portrays himself or herself outraged over the greed, creativity and impunity accompanying the plunder of the people’s money. But what registers with the common Filipino is the doublespeak and the hypocrisy that goes with it all. It is one thing to be corrupt. It is quite another to be corrupt while being righteous, denouncing a practice that he or she knows only too well. We know better than to believe that corruption in this country is committed only by those affiliated with a certain political group. We must watch our officials’ every word and body language and let them know they are fooling no one.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 02:41:15 +0000
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