What's terribly wrong with Congress?

There are facts and there are rumors. One such fact is that, in the Year 2004, the Philippines was in the Guinness World record as to the number of murders that happened in a country as reported by Sen. Richard Gordon. This is a statement that is hard to dispute because numbers do not lie. Just a few days ago, a hundred or so meters from my home, while I was sound asleep, an Iranian student boarder of my brother was murdered. Now that’s just too uncomfortably close to home! What an embarrassing reputation. But what the heck, we were second only to Iraq as the most dangerous place for journalist. I fully concur with that!

Now let’s go to rumors. As Rep. Antonio Cuenco revealed the other day, at least five Cebu-based prosecutors accept bribe money. Now if Rep. Tony Cuenco refuses to name names, this issue will remain a rumor. Just because embattled prosecutor John Resado was tagged into the bribery scandal on the so-called “Alabang Boys” incident and coincidentally, there was a deposit in his bank account of P800 thousand on the very date that was pinpointed, is merely circumstantial evidence, which has yet to be proven in court.

But it should not mean that our Congressmen could go into the streets declaring prosecutors as corrupt without giving the public some names as this erodes the faith and confidence of our Judicial system, which admittedly has already been marred and tarred by so many bribery scandals. Mind you, this is not the first time that Tony Cuenco went to town pointing his fingers on potential drug lords and the like. But at the end of the day like much of what’s happening in this country, nothing has been done about it and worse of all, the problems of the illicit drug trade continues to grow unabated.

I fully agree with my good friend Councilor Augustus Pe Jr., chairman of the Committee on Public Order and Safety, when he expressed his confidence in Cebu City Prosecutors whom I’m sure the media watches like a hawk! I can also say the same thing for the prosecutors under Provincial Prosecutor Pepita Jane Petralba because we haven’t heard any drug related issues with our prosecutors.

I believe that if there’s smoke, there must be a fire. So in the interest of fairness and propriety we would like Tony Cuenco to produce the names of the five prosecutors so that we can ask for their suspension and eventual prosecution of bribery cases. But then these cases would have to go to the Office of the Ombudsman, whose record in filing criminal cases against erring government officials are, at best, dismal.

What has been happening to Congress with Rep. Cuenco giving out reports without names shows how far Congress has gone astray in their real job as lawmakers or legislators. The members of the House of Representatives were elected into office for the purpose of enacting laws. But at the end of the day, they have arrogated upon themselves the role of the Philippine National Police (PNP) or the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) whose real job is to track down criminals or investigate criminal syndicates. Maybe these agencies aren’t doing the task assigned to them, which is why Congress is now doing it for them?

Last Monday, the headlines of The Philippine Star read, “Lawmakers Want Say in P5-B Classroom Fund”. The basic structure of the Philippine government are broken into three branches, the Executive who executes or enforces the laws that the Legislative branch enacts and the Judiciary if any questions of laws are being brought forth. So why should Congressmen have a say on the fund for classrooms that the Department of Education (DepEd) will implement?

It is common knowledge in this country that despite the presence of the Commission on Audit (COA) and all those other so-called “safeguards” to ensure that the taxpayers’ money isn’t pocketed by the unscrupulous and corrupt politician, we still end up with substandard roads or other infrastructure because too many people are getting a piece of the action! What was accepted as a 10 percent SOP has even ballooned to 20 percent or higher. SOP stands for Standard Operating Practice that most companies that deal with the government agencies hand out when they win contracts.

This is why Congress want to have a say in the classroom fund, more so that next year is already an election year. Where do you think these politicians get the money to have themselves elected into office? Certainly not from their own pockets, but from our tax money! This is why despite very little salaries, many people run for public office because getting a chunk of people’s money is the best business you can go into!