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The Erap clemency was not planned in good faith for a lot of varied reasons. And I believe that I am not the only one harboring all these ideas all along.
First reason: It was aimed to quiet down the growing National Broadcasting Network (NBN) scam that has been filling the airwaves for too long. The PGMA administration is practically off its wits with this scam as one truth led to another and another and before everyone else would be found to have dipped his or her fingers in the loot, better give Erap his clemency.
And, of course, the long-suffering enlightened people of the Philippines (I’ll call it the LSEPP) did not just buy that sudden gush of empathy coming from the PGMA administration. “What could be behind the move?” was the unanimous question hanging on each one’s head.
As you know it, the ‘hidden moves’ are now in the open. All of Erap’s properties will be confiscated and he cannot seek public office anymore, it is one of the conditions to his pardon, to get them back. Well, that is so good, provided that everything is done in an air-tight manner and properly sealed with authenticity, truth and honesty, and, most of all, monitored so that NOT ONE DOT of greed befell the skins of those who are manning these operations and divide the spoils among themselves, as is ALWAYS the case. And who will benefit from this?
First to go are the funds of the Muslim Youth Foundation. There are others more. Now, where will all that go once it gets to government coffers. Well, PGMA has a lot of unsuccessful 10-point agenda; she might use them for those. Oh, and Mike Arroyo’s health is not so good whenever the Senate sends him summons on some misshapen deals he gets himself into again and again. Question: Shouldn’t he be in the kitchen of the palace preparing some good dinner for palace guests instead of getting his hands tied in some fuzzy government deals that will always be found out anyway in the end? Do you think some congressmen and governors will be sent out some bags of cold cash again? Just asking. You see, we are in that season of gift-giving and a show of hospitality from a beleaguered leader would be a nice gesture.
Second reason: It tried to hold down the impact of another impeachment proceeding, which was eventually thwarted for lack of substance. The cash gifts worked! But what imprint does that leave on the minds of our young?
The PGMA administration still denies that the million-peso cash gifts pro-administration congressmen (This is the site to check them out: the pro-admins are either Lakas, CMD, KAMPI and their coalitions and we don’t have to re-elect them anymore!) and other local executives, governors and mayors (you know who they are) received last October 11 even after Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio showed the public the thousands bundle through the media. Still a priest, Panlilio said: “because as a priest and a public officer, I should not lie. I believe that since the money came from Malacañang, I also believe it is public money. So I should be accountable for it and [be] transparent about it.”
The calling of the priest is surely higher than the sight and scent of money; but how shameless and un-God-fearing is that to bribe a priest! Besides, the guy has honor, a worthy title to the post he holds. Money is not his religion. I question the rest who call themselves honorable but are a major disgrace and you know what else.
Bulacan Governor Joselito Mendoza also made his disclosure.
Do congressmen and local executives from time to time just receive cash gifts out of the blue without knowing what the intentions of the giver are or what for are the cash gifts, at least? Let me re-phrase that: Do congressmen and local executives receive regular bribes and the promise of fatter pork barrels? Come to think of it, shouldn’t the Philippine Commission on Good Government (PCGG) also look into this bribery issue as its name claims that great responsibility to at least ensure good government as nothing good is really being done right now?
They could’ve been used to build more classrooms where they are needed, or provide houses for those who do not have roofs on their heads and, yes, create jobs for those who have none. Mind you, this is not just a PhP500 thing in an envelop for one to take personal discretion of on how to expend the cash gift.
If your boss hands you a bag full of cash without a word, what would your initial reaction be? I know you are imagining it. And I know you would, at least, ask “why?”. Here are other possible questions: “what’s the catch?,” “what do you want me to do?,” “do you want to sleep with my wife?,” “what do you want from me?,” “what did I do to deserve this?,” “are you out of your little mind?”.
Oh, but why did the other governors and congressmen stay quiet about it for awhile? Media caught it on camera within palace grounds so there is no use denying it happened because it happened right there. And there was even this one forgettable congressman who even boasted that the cash gifts, after admitting they came from their KAMPPI group, was the accumulation of their monthly salary deduction! Hu-what???!!! That is the long-suffering enlightened people’s money you are giving away and for what! So you could keep this country in the gutters! You fool! And you did not even think of what you’d say?! DILG Sec. Ricardo Puno did not even know there is such a thing going on in their political party. A matter of the right hand not knowing what the wrong hand does, is that it?
And then Glorietta 2 exploded.
Now these congressmen and local executives want to come out clean after the media found them out. If there are dirty cops and hoodlums in robes, this time it is confirmed that, there are crooked congressmen and greedy governors masked as the good guys. They said they are not being bribed. (Well, hello, we weren’t born yesterday.) They don’t want to call it bribery because they know that the intentions of bribery are always dishonest and illegal. By merely receiving the bribe, they have partaken of its intents. They could’ve refused it, could’ve been offended by the act or simply returned it if they believed they do not want to be at all a part of it; but they did not. The sight of cold cash was too strong to repudiate. Randy David says it better with style and backed by his analyses.
The recent bombing of the Batasang Pambansa was a blast on all fronts of what this government obviously stands for. Speaker Jose de Venecia called the person or group behind it as anarchist, terrorist, extremist; but he or they surely made a political statement there, didn’t they? It was a major affront to an institution of government.
Third reason: Economists have warned everyone since the end part of this year’s second quarter that the coming year will be a really bad one. The falling US dollar and the hiking up of oil prices are not a good combination. A sorry time for the peso when it was beginning to get strong, despite massive complaints from exporters and those with bad debts. What groundwork has the PGMA administration prepared for this scenario? Yeah, there is no point asking. This government operates on a “we’ll see it when we get there” or “let’s see what the media has done for us today” modus operandi.
So there you see the Erap clemency was not planned. It was not in the agenda of the PGMA administration at all, until it was needed for whatever cockeyed purpose it served.
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Reference:
Photo from GMA 7’s 24 Oras
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
i respect that
THE BiG BAD W0LF ATE LiTTLE RED RiDiNG H00DZ GRANDMA.