A Christmas gift in bad taste

Hardly had the irate public ruckus died down over the scandalous wastage of P200T to half a million in tote bagfuls of Palace gifts, than another questionable “deal” of P200T each was wasted on congressmen totaling P48 million of poor Juan dela Cruz.

 This is another profligacy that bedevils the national leadership which is devoid of scruples, of basic decency and sense of propriety, with nary a prick of guilt, or a modicum of “delicadeza”, even at these critical times when people’s perception for the corrupt leadership is at its worst.

There is neither discomfiture or uneasiness of what “karma” may befall on the spendthrift leaders, nor fear of angry public reaction to overspending and throwing away the people’s money. In fact, Speaker Jose de Venecia was so jauntily proud on TV primetime that he had given P200T each to all his rah-rah boys.

One tried to decipher a hidden hesitation or discomfort in Joe de V’s voice and mien over such huge “highway robbery” of public funds. No, he wasn’t embarrassed a bit but he was so proud, and he even boldly justified it, nay, even put in that P200T for every representative wasn’t even enough to cater to his constituents’ needs. As if all these lawmakers in turn would part with all the P200T bonanza to their hungry constituents.

In fairness though to some finicky recipients of the congressional “dole-outs”, they could have given away in kind some of their P200T shares to their famished constituents. But how many of them have done that?

But even if some solons didn’t feel “comfortable” with Joe de V’s manna, the stark fact remains that it was an impropriety. Besides the regular salary and P70 M in pork barrel, they enjoy huge allowances and other perks that come with the system, like travels, staff, committee chairmanships, and the like.

Also in fairness to the decent and still altruistic who didn’t want to rock the boat by refusing to receive their shares, the whole scenario had already been hatched, that is, to throw away a total of P48M as X’mas gifts. As the saying goes, “Ang gasa kono nga hatud-baay dili kono kabalibaran, ug gabaan unya sa grasya”.

Besides, the culture of squandering, like graft and corruption, is now ingrained in the system. This P200T “dole-out” was no different from the P200T to P500T each of tote bags not so long ago distributed in Malacañan to governors and, yes, congressmen.

Surprisingly, the vociferous and boisterous lower house members as the nemeses of GMA, like the party-list leftists, say, Beltran, Ocampo, Casiño, Masa, Baraquiel and their cohorts, have been loudly silent as if something has gagged their voices, or some bones have stuck in their throats.

Meantime, the national government employees and the LGU small fry have been easily assuaged with few thousands of X’mas bonus, at least, to lessen their aggrieved sensibilities over the P200T to every congressman in addition to the P200T to P500T given at the Palace earlier.