Men of the word to men of the world

Play with fire and you’ll get burned.

The same can be said with politics or public office. While people talk about the power, the perks and the profit, one unfortunate incident, a mishandled event or poor choice of words can torch you. Jesus Christ himself was well aware of the dangers.

After feeding the five thousand, people wanted to put Jesus in charge. “Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he departed again to the mountain by himself alone.” – John 6:15. Jesus clearly knew better.

As a result of the scandalous flood control scams and ghost projects, many have found themselves under public scrutiny, especially local officials, congressmen and senators.

Among them are individuals who were “men of the word” or having a religious background. But now they are suspected of being involved or having a part in the public works scam.

If not thievery, they are hounded for their transformation from humble shepherds and defenders of the faith into defenders of the lifestyle of the rich in Congress, engaging in name calling and pride-filled disrespect for their political enemies or critics.

Confessions of regret have been posted by Christians online who pinned their trust and hope that by electing “godly men,” they can influence and change the culture of politics.

Unfortunately, recent events and a cascade of scandalous claims and videos online have awakened supporters that these “men of the word” have become full-fledge politicians and “men of the world,” reflected by their materialism, sanctimonious conduct if not belligerent behavior.

The spirit of humility has departed from them, their love for God’s word has been replaced by their own words and agenda, the gentle nature they once had replaced by a fierce, combative and accusing spirit.

As voters repent over their choice, church elders need to institutionalize accountability, critical thinking of the flesh versus the word and future proof the believers’ faith regarding “men of the world” because disappointment breeds contempt and disbelief and then God gets blamed.

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It is bad enough that we have to chase after corrupt contractors who stole us blind and sank our towns and cities, now we are confronted by politicians washing their hands of any guilt, justifying their opulent lifestyle, while performing as prosecutors, judges and jury in the greatest robbery in Philippine history! The dramatics is sickening!

Under the current climate of doubt and suspicions aimed at politicians, specifically legislators, why, I ask, must the task of investigating and prosecution be extended to members of Congress and the Senate.

Are they deaf, so self-righteous or simply insensitive that they dismiss delicadeza and the need to inhibit Congress under such circumstances? Instead, they jump right in with sanctimonious indignation and cite their duty to investigate in aid of legislation.

What new laws do we need against plunder, graft and corruption? We already have them all!

If we fail to get real justice, fail to expose those guilty of conspiracy, graft and corruption, then we are all doomed to suffer the impunity of the corrupt.

The President called them – mga walang hiya. Unfortunately, name calling, social media bashing and lightning rallies and graffiti are momentary release of anger and indignation amounting to nothing.

At the moment, the youth are leading the way in confronting the suspects and the suspected, similar to the “25 January Revolution” in Egypt, Tiananmen protests, the pro-democracy Movement in Hong Kong.

More recently, people on social media have made reference to the Indonesian protests against housing perks for elected officials. Now we have copycat attacks against the accused.

Having been on the receiving end of People Power in 1986, PBBM should realize that unlike the activism of the past, there are no real heroes or leaders to guide, direct or control the civil unrest and protests today.

There are no influencers from the church, political icons have been selective in their engagements and even the so-called Left have been in bed with suspected politicians.

While this may weaken any movement, it can also make it highly combustible and uncontrollable. The last thing President Bongbong Marcos needs is for someone to manipulate emotions against him or his administration.

PBBM needs to do more. He has to clean house without fear or favor for relatives, friends or political allies. The worst thing is to be accused of doing nothing substantial against the contractors, Cong. Tractors, DPWH officials, etc.

The efforts of DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon to investigate and prosecute the guilty under the DPWH are highly commendable. However, it comes across as an unintentional act of containment or compartmentalizing the problem, limiting it to DPWH officials and contractors.

What about the “Others?”

In the interest of truth, justice and fair play, Filipinos need to see and know if legislators, local government officials, brokers and bankers really had a part in the biggest robbery of Philippine history.

Filipinos can no longer be counted on to be long-suffering or mapag-pasensya or forgiving. Not when the President himself has called the guilty shameless and showed the Filipino people examples of ghost projects.

Once you open Pandora’s box or let the genie out of the bottle, there is no going back. PBBM should lead the charge or risk being chased by mad dogs.