Of courage and cowardice

For several weeks if not months now, Filipinos have read, heard and talked about the estimated P10-billion pork barrel scam, the double crosses and the extravagant lifestyle of the suspects. For several weeks, netizens have been treated to video links portraying a young lady living it up like a Rodeo Drive socialite allegedly funded from the pork barrel scam.  True or false I personally thought that that was the lowest blow anyone could give or take until I started hearing and reading the statements of Senators and Congressmen saying that they will let other investigating bodies or authorities look into the scam first before stepping in.

Ideally, that position would seem wise since it is often unacceptable for the guilty to investigate one’s self. But Senators and Congressmen have uniformly if not unanimously voiced their innocence on the matter. Human nature dictates that those falsely accused or implicated would be the first to move for investigations, to clear their name, to determine wrongdoing and to pursue the guilty. But so far the Senators have been historically consistent, all the way to the time Jesus was presented to Pontius Pilate.  They are washing their hands to declare their self determined innocence   and passing on the responsibility to investigate to any and all bodies knowing fully well that no one can, and no one will dare take on the members of Congress.

Even if some “untouchables” were courageous enough or foolhardy to do so, we know that the separation of powers, the fear of impeachment in the Judiciary, and the power over the purse that Congress wields, not to mention their option to find fault, investigate or conduct public hearings (a.k.a. public humiliations) are more than enough reasons why no one from the Executive branch or the Judiciary has enough courage to act. 

In this sad season of our history there is unfortunately, more cowardice than courage.

Not even an opposition block, if there really is one, could be counted upon to rise to the occasion and challenge the system because many, not all, directly benefitted from the mismanagement and wanton corruption made available or stimulated by the pork barrel system.

It is sickening how those who now sit in power at the Senate and the House of Representatives can callously ignore the shock and disbelief of people regarding the pork barrel scam. The so-called Majority was once the very people who condemned the Arroyo administration as the most corrupt if not the most evil administration, even smarter than the Marcos dictatorship. The so-called majority was the one who questioned and condemned officials of government owned and controlled corporations of GOCCs for rewarding themselves with fat bonuses and financial perks. More than the pot calling the kettle black, it is more the swine calling piglets pigs!

But then again, what were we thinking? We need to manage our expectations because after all, these very Senators and members of Congress are the same politicians that we know of “yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” They simply changed party affiliations, sang different songs like paid entertainers, realigned loyalties, capitalized on public sentiments and have been calling the good — the bad and the bad — the good. When they were the minority they sang to the chorus, when they came into power they praised themselves. In 2016, they will once again do the same. They are not just members of Congress, they are political con artists.

If ever there were a prophetic message that is fit for this mob it would have to be the lines from the book of Revelation where God himself states:

“ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”

We can all take comfort in the proven fact that God will not be mocked. There will be recompense individually or collectively. The pork barrel has long been the single most institutionalized form of fund corruption. The public outcry on the matter is not about a Janet Lim Napoles or some slip up at the Department of Agriculture that allegedly facilitated misuse and release of government funds. The public outcry is against the financial self entitlement of legislators, the publicly funded political patronage system and the “political exchange deal” between the Office of the President and Congress that has been funded by the pork barrel since the colonial period of the Philippines!

The outcry is from the Filipinos saying “Enough is enough!” Martin Luther King once quoted Dante and said: “The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in great crisis choose to sit idly by.”  No we cannot sit idly by in surrender. The pork barrel is our tax payments, ten to 32 percent of all the money we worked hard for, honestly earned and paid to the government in obedience to the law. The pork barrel is filled with the many other taxes we pay through the EVAT, sales tax etc. Taxes are meant to be the equalizer that helps the poor, provides social services, and addresses the needs for housing, education and health care. Taxes are intended to provide incentive, infrastructure and security to the middle and upper class as well as the business community.

Taxes are not meant to fund the public relations and imaging building of politicians and their families. Congressional power of the purse means Congress has the right to study budgets, government plans and the proper utilization of tax money. The power of the purse does not mean it gives you Mr. Senator, the power to give it to yourself or spend it for your political promotion any way you see fit. That Mr. Senator is not Congressional power of the purse. That is abuse of power and I will not sit idly while you justify yourself or wash your hands!