Caught in the act!

This country is so mixed up, in values. Here we have a President telling the whole wide world that he is fighting corruption and he is cleaning house. But why are his men always stumbling and being caught doing otherwise?

PNoy must bring out his whip and straighten up his cabinet. He must not be a “softie” especially when it comes to friends and allies. The public has been observing his every move and it seems that he has an iron fist on those who are not close to him and is quite soft on those who are his barkadas. Anyway, I think he should speak to all his men. He must start from the very beginning (again) and tell them to do what is right and not what is wrong. I know this is such a basic rule but it seems that his kindergarten cops need to be reminded again and again. Truly our values in this country have deteriorated over time – we need someone who can bring us back to the days of good governance – that with honor, respect and dignity.

The recent buzz about Ronald Llamas buying pirated DVDs with a photo taken to prove his action was another proof that this guy is not taking his job seriously. He is continuing to prance around town unmindful of his reckless actions. And he is the president’s political adviser? Sanamagan!

 Remember he was in the news sometime in October about having a high-powered weapon with at least two short firearms in his car while he was in Switzerland. Police discovered them when a vehicular accident happened involving Llamas car with his aides in it. Right away the Quezon City police filed criminal charges against Llamas’ four security aides for violation of Presidential Decree 1866, for illegal possession of his permit to carry an AK-47 automatic assault rifle outside his home.

This is a clear case of having been “caught in the act” and it doesn’t really sit well in the eyes of the people. Every representative of the people must be a model (not a distraction to government service or image) and must not condone wrong actions. Even if there is no law on buying pirated DVDs, he has disgraced the President’s fight on antipiracy.   The paradox is when the President said, “Maybe he was just passing by” and “You know that we have so many problems. That DVD issue is kind of low on our list of priorities”. PNoy seems to be contradicting himself will he fight for antipiracy or protect his tribe?

If PNoy is serious about his drive to stop piracy in this country, he should have been offended by the actions Llamas has taken. What Llamas has done is such an insult to the President — being his presidential political adviser. So people can quibble and say, “Is this the guy the president looks up to and listens to?” Despicable!

Who are you protecting Mr. President – your country or your ally? You must tell us without a blink of an eye that, “You will see to it that Llamas will be disciplined or will be given sanctions, if indeed he did such acts”. People such as this one should resign without having to be told. Such actions really lowers the respect people have of Filipinos.   Imagine a presidential political adviser showing us insensibility. Is he really qualified for responsibility?

A president must not ever give the public the perception of cuddling his men. He must give them (those who are treacherous) a good spanking and be serious about it. He is the father of this nation and he should be strong enough to show us that he can discipline and punish those who do wrong even if they are close to him.

The question is why do mall owners (such as Circle C where Llamas was seen and even Metrowalk in Pasig aside from others around the country) still allow stalls of pirated DVDs under their jurisdiction. Why can’t the government impose stricter sanctions on mall owners? Shouldn’t they also be responsible for what is sold in their premises? If government says that pirated DVDs are illegal, shouldn’t those encouraging it also be charged?

Republic Act 9239 or the “Optical Media Act of 2003” states that only those engaged in the manufacturing and selling of pirated goods can be punished. But this law does not seem to have enough teeth to fully dismantle the piracy industry in the country. What are our congressmen doing in this regard, I wonder?

Llamas has not really done anything unlawful in this situation; however, as a public official he has crossed the line of being a good representative of the people. Don’t forget, he has the obligation to uphold and support the law of the land.

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Another case of “caught in the act” is the US cash smuggling issue of Senator Lito Lapid’s wife, Marissa who brought in $50,493.00 (more than the allowable maximum of 10k) to the United States. Hasn’t she been travelling back and forth to the USA? Hasn’t she been reading the news of people being convicted for such acts? Did she forget the story of the PNP generals who were caught red handedly with too much money in a foreign land? Her husband is a Senator, one of the highest officials in the land. How can she be so naïve or ignorant? Actually, like other officials and their families who always feel entitled to many things, I think (and this is my personal opinion) it is more of a miscalculated arrogance due to possession of ‘borrowed’ power.

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By the way, my alikabok says that while the whole country has been preoccupied with the impeachment trial, a multi-billion dollar deal has been sealed to pursue the connection of SCTEX to SLEX (the 500 km road connecting north to south). Is it true that someone very close to the president got the deal? I have not heard any news on this matter. I wonder if they are trying to keep this matter under the wraps to themselves. Anyway, if this is true, then “pay-back” has already begun under the very waters of Malacañang.