Fighting corruption still a priority

Who would have thought that an obnoxious little object would become the battle cry by which President Noynoy Aquino would define his presidency? As he did in his inauguration speech, where he singled out the use of the “wang-wang” by abusive and arrogant government officials and politicians as being forbidden by law, he has taken the same “wang-wang” mentality analogy to further his programs of governance, specifically to eradicate corruption and red-tape bureaucracy. He has taken that single most irritating thing about government officials and used it to state that no longer will we ever go back to that kind of a system. And a beautiful analogy it is. It drives straight to the point, using an object that almost all Filipinos have had unpleasant and infuriating experiences with. PNoy’s promise of a corrupt-free government is on track!

 President Aquino’s Second State of the Nation Address basically drives home the point of his main promise. People expected his speech to be another tirade against the former Arroyo administration. But he skillfully avoided that by simply stating the accomplishments that his administration achieved in a year, most of it in the discoveries of more anomalies and corruption! After all, when corruption is mentioned in the context of it being recently discovered, who else is to blame but former administration officials? PNoy’s single example of PAGCOR’s coffee expenses reaching into the one billion peso mark in the past several years is enough to incense even the comatose!

 His administration is the first to admit that more has to be done, before we can truly say that we have eradicated the ills of the past and have moved forward. Some say that his SONA intentionally omitted issues such as the RH Bill, Freedom if Information Act and newer programs for education and health care. But it’s only been a year, and government is still busy with discovering more garbage, landfills actually, buried in the hope that they are never found. Who wants to lug around garbage? The President has also reiterated what he has said in the past, that those guilty of all the discovered crimes must be punished. A tall order considering the sheer number of cases to filed against a multitude of persons, including the former president. But again, these are the things that will define his presidency. Truth, equality and justice. One thing is for certain, people may ask where this administration is headed, but nobody can say that it will ever go back to the system so masterfully utilized by the past administration. So if you still have that “wang-wang” mindset, better find another government to deal with!