Janet Napoles, big and small fry accountable

Everywhere I went during the last few days — Dumaguete, Iligan, Cagayan de Oro  — the rage was the abolition of the “pork barrel,” and the perceived  â€œcarnivore,” Janet Lim-Napoles. The news coverage of  the nationwide One Million rallies fanned the anger of concerned citizens. One is grateful that no violence had taken place: just a simple spark would have turned the mass gatherings into riots, and the cry could have been to put to the torch the perpetrators of  such  massive pilferage of the nation’s coffers.

The focus has been on Napoles. But the more level-headed say  drastic attention should be given to the flaws that encouraged the misuse of the Priority Assistance Development Fund (PDAF), that crucified such once-unknown, now catapulted to unenviable heights, Napoles, to bear the awful reputation she will carry through  her twilight years. As of this writing, she is being pursued by protesters to her place of incarceration,  needling authorities  about her living accommodations there, and the food served her — no pork, and no CCTV in the bathroom, please. What a pity.

Going through my emails, I find that sent by public relations man Romy G. David to hit the nail on the head. He says that too much focus has been on Napoles, and that the PDAF program “is well-meaning, but the project implementation system and procedures were purposely flawed in its design for a ‘reason.’”

“It is clear that corruption and graft points to corrupt personalities and not the PDAF program’s concept or objectives,” writes Romy. “So why throw the baby out with the dirty water? There are a number of commendable examples of PDAF that were successfully implemented in a manner consistent with the PDAF programs and objectives with good results, and proper accountability.  I must admit that they may be more the exception than the rule, though.”

Napoles, writes David, could not have gotten as far as she had without the participation and help of a lot of small people throughout the process in various organizations, agencies, personalities and offices like the Congress (both houses), the implementing agencies (headed by Cabinet Secretaries who approve the projects), the Department of Budget Management who managed, scrutinized, prioritized and budgeted the funding release, the Commission on Audit who pass on and certified the correctness of transaction or even the Bureau of Internal Revenue  tasked to monitor transaction incomes to insure that correct taxes are collected on the transaction, as well as other implementing government and private sector offices and polities personalities. They too, should be held accountable.”

Romy proposes that if we really want to address corruption, “let us not be too timid, kind or shy. We need to be all inclusive in our efforts . . . our efforts should not be personality sensitive no matter who . . . however high or low, should be held to account. We need to send a strong message to all the people involved in the transactions along the way.

“All, especially the small people in government that process the documents, need to realize that they too have accountability and being only one small cog in the process is no excuse to allow corruption by being ambivalent or looking the other way.

“We always blame the people at the top for corruption, but corruption has been around for decades and has only gotten worse through the years. Even after we change people at the top, administration after administration, corruption is still our biggest deterrent to inclusive economic growth.

“We have to recognize that unless we include in our fight against corruption, the people in government who see and process the documents along the way, corruption will continue and only prosper as the way to get ahead in government.

“The people who move the documents through the system remain in place, and are not held to account, so they have gotten bolder through the years.”

“It is truly unfair to the greater number of dedicated and honest public servants if the corrupted facilitators go unpunished.”

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It is said that the youth are the hope of the fatherland. In these trying times, one is pleased about a popular beverage-sponsored program that seeks to empower children and make them heroes — and possibly pave the way for a corruption-free society?

Yes, kids can be motivated to become modern-day heroes, thanks to a collective movement initiated by Tang Philippines which gathers kids “to make a lasting difference,” who, thus far, have emerged as the youngest active members of their communities.

An example of modern-day hero is Kesz Valdez, 14, who was first recognized as a Tang Galing Kid awardee in 2011. Last year he was awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize, conferred by Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Desmond Tutu. Kesz grew up scavenging garbage, and, through the guidance of community worker Harnin Manalaysay, has been  helping more than 10,000 underprivileged children with  â€œGifts of Hope,” containing slippers, toys, and candy, and teaching them about hygiene, food, and children’s rights.

Other modern-day heroes, who are also Tang Galing Kid awardees, are Raynold dela Cruz, a young advocate for children’s rights, and artists U Maalam and Trubador Wisely, 10,  who create comics, whose sale is spent on projects to improve the lives of others. Angela Serafico, 12,  sells her paintings to gather donations for calamity victims. Martha Balagat creates first aid materials for underprivileged children. And Girl Scout Dannah Suarez teaches religion and reading in her local church and barangay.

The newly-organized Tang Galing Club Virtual  World provides a real-life “gamified” experience of how kids can go and contribute change to the world. The club’s first real-life mission is a recycling drive called Project RecyClass, a project that sends children to collect used foil packs, which will be recycled to make flood-proof plastic school chairs via a technology that is available in the Philippines. These chairs will be donated to selected public schools in Metro Manila. There should be no shortage of recyclable materials. In the Philippines it is reported that around 4.6 million kilos of plastic waste are generated every day, with a significant portion of it coming from plastic foils and containers.

The project was brought about by the recent findings of the online survey conducted by the Tang Galing Club (www.TangGalingClub.com), which revealed that 50 percent of the young club members consider “caring for the environment” as the issue closest to their hearts.

Alex Tacderas, Kraft Foods Philippines’ category marketing manager for beverages,  said, “Recycling makes the kids feel good. By instilling that kind of mentality in kids at a young age, they become more serious and feel empowered to do great things.”

The role of parents in helping their children release their potentials was cited by Dr. Elizabeth Ventura, University of the Philippines psychologist. She said the important thing (for parents and guardians) is to see that their children’s development is “holistic. Aside from concentrating on special talents or only on cognitive abilities, parents should provide a very strong psycho-social support for their children.”

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