Watching and waiting

Whether the number of people who rallied last Monday was 60,000, 100,000 or collectively – in cities all over the country and even abroad – higher than that, one thing is clear: Get rid of pork. The President’s new formula that still accommodates requests of individual lawmakers for projects for their districts – and only their districts – will work only if the people will be vigilant and keep our tong-ressmen and sin-ators on the straight and narrow path.

Last Monday’s people’s march must be more than a show of indignation; it must be a commitment to be partners in good governance. Pardon my cynicism but I do not really trust our officials – local, regional and national – when it comes to government money – our money. No matter the safeguards that are put into the system, unless there is vigilance over allocations and disbursements, the crooks in office will manage to find a way to divert the funds into their pockets.

If your tong-gressman proposes and gets approval for a bridge in your district, make sure it is built. Post on Facebook photos of the construction as it progresses. If your town asks a sin-ator for a school, let the rest of the country know how much it costs and show that it was indeed built and being used. Each one of us must be the COA (Commission on Audit) representative in our area.

Let our government officials – the president, vice president, senators, congressmen, governors, mayors, barangay and SK officials, judges and justices, policemen – know in no uncertain terms: We’re watching you!

After what happened last Monday, no one should fall back on the old cop out, “Ganun talaga, wala tayong magagawa” (That’s just how it is, there’s nothing we can do). In the past, you could be the proverbial lonely voice in the wilderness. Now, one voice raised in cyberspace, one little tweet or post on social media, can and will be heard. Similarly, one image, uploaded on Instagram and shared on Facebook, can galvanize a thousand likes and just as easily seal your doom if you have been parading your ill- or otherwise questionably-gotten wealth – as some have learned the hard way.

Just as generations ago the printing press opened the vast storehouse of wisdom in ancient scrolls and hand-copied tomes to the people, today the Internet and social media, affordable computers and tablets and smartphones have opened up access to information and connect people like never before.

The crooks in government and their cohorts are, however, counting on one thing – apathy. That after the euphoria of Monday’s march has died down, after the shock and indignation over the pork barrel scam have worn off, we will go back to our usual lives – and they can go back to their lucrative endeavors. I am counting on the President’s pronouncement that there will be a conviction in this scam before he leaves office, and I am counting on the three furies – the ombudsman, the secretary of justice and the COA chairman – to see that this happens.

I’m watching, and waiting.