The situation regarding the controversial “pork barrel” scam is fast becoming confused and adumbrated. What started out as a hope filled brilliant light at the end of the tunnel has now been shrouded in sooty smog. What a big majority of us thought was a major headway in P’noy’s mission to eradicate corruption in government has been blunted by frenetic efforts of those who were most threatened by prosecution, together with their allies and those who benefit from status quo. A lot of us well meaning citizens were in ecstatic joy when the “pork scandal” first surfaced. But what is it now?...the whole event has turned into a temple of Babel, a confused plaza of shouting matches, misdirection with false leads, broad gauge shots of accusations and the creation of opportunistic alliances with groups that have no relevance to the issues except for a common contrarian stance against the government of P’noy. All these have been cleverly orchestrated to delay the prosecution of the major protagonists (JPE, Bong, Jinggoy and some congressmen).
The opposition
has succeeded in no mean way. The popularity rating of P’noy has gone down
significantly and quite a few who earlier supported Pnoy are now a befuddled
lot, playing into the hands of the other side by joining marches that included
the agenda of the left and being convinced of the clever ploy of making “pork
barrel” per se as an evil thing, the president’s budget included. They have
managed to convince a lot of people that the budget, even that of the
president’s, is evil. By attaching the emotional term “pork” on the chief
executive’s budget they, with the help of the mercenary army of hacks in
broadcast and print media, have been successful in staining the president’s
reputation. The ploy is not so much to hamstring the president’s ability to
make the government function, but, to besmirch his name as a “pork” user
himself to the point of calling him “Pork King”. At some juncture in time, the
focus to get things done urgently was lost as there were those of us who joined
in raising the number count and the noise level to several decibels higher,
thus helping the cause of the other side.
For us who want
P’noy to succeed, all we want to happen is to have a quick prosecution of the
main suspects. The successful prosecution of the big time perpetrators will
pave the way for reforms in government and its bureaucracy; this will spell the
end of institutionalised corruption. The wheel of justice in our country grinds
exceedingly slow and if we let this run at its usual pace we would have given
the perpetrators a chance to be pardoned by P’noy’s successor, a somebody who
may be as “friendly” as PGMA, who in her tenure pardoned the most obnoxious
miscreants. When this happens, we are back to square one, and the evil powers have
saved “happy days” once more.
Through all
these years, what has transpired in the last few months would be the only real
opportunity to cleanse government of graft and corruption. Without the expose’
of the PDAF scam involving our senators, congressmen and other government
position holders, the country was traversing a moribund path towards an inextricable
quagmire that will condemn generations of Filipinos into lives of deprivation,
illiteracy and anomie. A sharp contrast to “daang matuwid” which promises the
long sought redemption of the Filipino from the entrenched graft and corrupt
way of life which only benefits the 1%.
Realistically, some
of us in this forum may no longer see the changes come about in our lifetime,
but, all we want is to be assured that systemic corruption has been halted and
that this insidious cancer would not continue to metastasize and crush all
hopes we have for our children and grandchildren.
The efforts of
the other side have been fierce and relentless. The people behind the effort to
blunt the resonance of the “pork barrel” scam are experts at managing and
creating events. With the aid of spin doctors and incredible hacks in media
they were able to confuse the issues through disinformation and misinformation.
Desperate and vicious counterattacks have been fast and furious and have
managed to succeed in shattering the conviction of some who were supportive of Pnoy’s
initiatives earlier. Rallies started with honest intentions and were real
expressions of outrage against the excesses of the legislators. Succeeding
rallies became opportunities for the other side to obfuscate issues. Teaming up
with parties with other agendas, but with common hostility towards Pnoy, they
were able to distract and cause some of the pro Pnoy groups to lose their
focus. In the meantime, the henchmen of the other side are busy at work
creating all sorts of distractions designed to delay the prosecution of the
perpetrators.
For those who
continue to go against Pnoy and his mission, I urge you to examine your motives
for siding with the other side. I refuse to believe that the reasons could be
ideological, or a difference in program of governance or patriotism. I don’t
think anyone will disagree that the system we have lived with all these years
has been a patently corrupt one and that reforms have long been needed and
neither is it arguable that our government officials; senators, congressmen and
some members of the bureaucracy have committed heinous and unconscionable crimes
against the Filipino people and this travesty need to be redressed.
What are the
reasons why there are still people who support the other side despite their
obvious evil intentions? Why don’t they support Pnoy?
Let me hazard a
few guesses:
1.
they
believe that “pork barrel” is inherently
evil
2.
they
now believe that P’noy is equally guilty because he himself has “pork”
3.
they
believe that P’noy’s sincerity is not enough to create positive change
4.
they
believe that everybody in the COA report should be charged immediately
5.
they
are part of the group of politicians who benefit from status quo,
6.
they
are among those threatened by prosecution for involvement or are complicit to
defraud the government,
7.
they have familial relationships with the
those on the other side,
8.
they
have existing businesses and undertakings that will be adversely affected by
the reforms,
9.
they
have close friends and associates who are enmeshed in the scandal,
10. they have an axe to grind against P’noy,
11. they owe a debt of gratitude with the suspects
in the “pork barrel” scam
12. they are of the conviction that we need
to have a change of government or ideology (against Pnoy or any other
president),
13. they have a mercenary relationship with
the opposition and the suspects
14. they entertain the hope that the “well”
has not yet dried up when they get elected in the future
15. they don’t really care because they have
a weak allegiance to the country,
16. they have a sense of loyalty for being
with them for a long time etc. etc.
17. They are employed in businesses,
institutions and professional offices owned by the other side
Well, if it is
not any of the above, we can easily manufacture one. The human mind is so
resilient that it can rationalize readily an opinion even if it is blatantly
indefensible. Going through the list help us identify real motives from the
rationalized ones.
No matter how much
rationalisation is done to assuage and hide the guilt, the spectre of mendicant
children of our future...maybe of our own grandchildren, weighs heavy on the
mind and will haunt us because a sea change in the country was happening but we
let it go with the tide.
