When power becomes evil

When evil gets regarded as an everyday happening, not worth a second thought or angry protest, and lying becomes an official habit rather than a sinister misdeed, there’s something seriously wrong with our society. This was what my father told me years ago.

He further said: We’ve sunk even lower than the jungle beasts – for the Law of the Jungle at least mandates “the survival of the fittest,” while in our society it’s the misfits who are rewarded.”

We’ve been reading about powerful politicians and businessmen who think and act like they are above the law. You see, in the Philippines, money can buy power. And when these people get into trouble, they are never scared. As a matter of fact, every time there is a lawful order for their arrest or suspension, they will resort to all means just to avoid, evade, defy, or refuse the order. Then they will try to get the public’s sympathy by saying their case was clearly ‘politically motivated’. Sanamagan!

It is so easy for these narcissists to disobey the law and most of the time they get away with it. Hired lawyers can easily turn their cases around to circumvent the law.

The sad part is that even government officials try to create their own laws. When the law is already very clear in black and white, they still have the audacity to go around it to justify their actions. Take the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) for instance. Why is the President still making excuses for his Cabinet for such an unlawful act? Didn’t the Supreme Court already declare it unconstitutional? Shouldn’t P-Noy fire all of his men who authored the DAP? Doesn’t he realize that they have just paved the way to the biggest scandal and corruption case of all time – the Napoles, et al. Pork Scam?

Why do powerful people become evil? A simple policeman, a traffic enforcer, a BIR tax collector, a Bureau of Customs officer, an accreditation officer in a government agency, a city hall personnel issuing permits and licenses, whose jobs are to serve the public and to contribute to the progress of our society have all become dysfunctional. Why? It is because of greed. These people will never be contented, so they keep wanting for more…and more… and more. And before they know it, evil has entered the core of their very being.

What bothers me to no end is how they can embezzle public funds and actually think it is rightfully theirs. How can you explain a government official whether a city clerk, a barangay chairman, a mayor, a governor, a congressman or a senator amassing so much wealth with their meager salary?

How can their families live luxurious lives (many houses in posh villages, owning expensive cars, flying private jets, travelling here and there) spending money like there is no more tomorrow and yet, believe in their hearts that their son, brother, father, mother, husband or wife who work as a public servant is innocent? How can they explain where their wealth came from? Sure it is easy to tell a lie but in the end, “the truth shall prevail.”

The term “public service” has become the sickest joke of all time. What public service are you talking about? Nobody is serving the public anymore. Many government officials and bureaucrats are boldly helping themselves to the “kaban ng bayan” and those in the Commission on Audit and the Finance Department can’t seem to stop them. Of course we all know why. Congressmen and Senators put their sons, daughters, godchildren, relatives in the House of Representative payrolls. This shameless raiding of the treasury goes on as well in the local governments and even among the Cabinet members.

Try to visit the House of Representatives or the Senate and you will see how each congressman or senator’s office is dominated by relatives and friends without civil service eligibility. Running the city or municipality has become a corporation. What happened to the law against nepotism? Why do ghost employees still exist in this day and age when checks and balances can easily be placed in the systems?

The prohibitory norm against nepotism in public service is set out in Section 59, Book V of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987 (also known as E.O. No. 292). Section 59 reads as follows: Nepotism. – (1) All appointments to the national, provincial, city and municipal governments or in any branch or instrumentality thereof, including government owned or controlled corporations, made in favor of a relative of the appointing or recommending authority, or of the chief of the bureau or office, or of the persons exercising immediate supervision over him, are hereby prohibited.

Under the definition of nepotism, one is guilty of nepotism if an appointment is issued in favor of a relative within the third civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of any of the following: a) appointing authority; b) recommending authority; c) chief of the bureau or office; and d) person exercising immediate supervision over the appointee.

There have been so many who practice such acts who have never been punished for this abuse of power. It should be stopped. This pernicious evil continues to obstruct the civil service and the efficiency of its personnel. People are employed not because they are qualified for the position but because they belong to the “kamag-anak inc.” Susmariosep!

Almost all the Presidents after the Marcos era were charged with plunder and graft and corruption. P-Noy may not even be spared.

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Cocolisap update: The government has declared an all-out war against the spread of the coconut scale insect. Despite the criticisms coming from environment groups that the taskforce is using too many chemicals, Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, Francis Pangilinan said that a combination of chemical and organic solutions have proven to be complementary to each other.

I guess when desperation comes into play to save our coconuts anything to stop the pests will do as long as it doesn’t harm animals, humans and other plants. When the country is faced with a problem that affects the lives of many people, it is the duty of the government to find the best solution and act on it immediately to prevent complications or further damage to property and lives. What annoys me is how Secretary Alcala and his staff from the PCA handled this problem.

Pangilinan has been given the responsibility to find the most viable solution that will stop the infestation as quickly as possible and of course with due consideration for the environment. I hope it is not too late. The pests seem uncontrollable at this time.

I’m pretty sure farmers and concerned groups have other possible solutions to the problem. They are welcome to share and have their products tested. Meantime, farmers should not only rely on the government. They must also carry on with their alternative measures. Remember this is not the time to whine and bicker. Let us do what we can to save our precious coconuts.

“The most dangerous liars are those who think they are telling the truth” – wocado.com