Saturday, August 17, 2013

P10B WORTH OF PORK

Lately each morning when I get to the breakfast table and open the papers, my day is ruined.

For the past weeks, there has been this continuing telenovela of yet another tale of shameless graft and corruption in a country promising its resurrection by tireless and revolutionary reforms.

The sudden disappearance of the Queen of the Pork People after a warrant of arrest has been issued by the Department of Justice was only the start of my chronic dyspepsia.  

The week before that, the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) has come out with a series of shocking revelations about just how much was carted away from the national coffers to land straight into the gaping purses of certain resourceful individuals that include legislators and scam bunnies like this Invisible Woman.

Then came that "invitational round table interview" of our heroine with the Inquirer editors which shall hold a record of being one of the most incoherent, absurd bordering on the surreal encounters of humans among each other.  An effort to complete a sentence has become a feat.  An even greater effort is to make sense out of statements --- as the woman in questions mumbled, grumbled and eventually stumbled her way in various fabrications hoping to approximate truth.

But wait ... there's more.

Worse than those mind-boggling experiences with media, revelations about the ostentatious lifestyle of the unexplained rich and cheesy infamous rattled all Filipino netizens or anyone who has access to YouTube. 

Images of a lavish birthday party in L.A. hosted by the youngest offspring of said Magic Lady were meant to be awesome, showing how the spoiled rich and privileged spend their money to mark monumental moments of their perfumed lives. The video only complemented Instagram images posted by the same West Coast junior socialite showing her rubbing elbows with high profile Hollywood personalities and exhibiting her collection of designer handbags and shoes.

The video and the web photos all seem to point to some Paris Hilton Wannabe --- complete with that breathless sort of excitement one usually associates with early stages of asphyxia or just typical behavior of airheads.  Whatever.  But regardless of one thinks or feels, the more fashionable among us will admit that the clothes fit good --- and the food looks great.

"Well, if you have it ... then flaunt it."  

That must have been the justification for all that.  After all, it IS the age of the selfie in which you take pictures, spread the image through the net to announce to the world what kind of sushi or dessert you are having right that very moment. If you've got what it takes, then show it ... At mamatay kayong lahat sa inggit kung hindi nyo ito ma-take.

But then again such exhibitions of orchestrated vanity are not justified at all when the money allegedly used for buying the bubblies, the hors d'ouvres, the entire runway set-up for the party and even that tacky photo booth where all her blonde and blue-eyed American friends can go glamorously goofy were paid for by the taxes of the natives back home.

Let's get real here and put penis-envy aside.  There is nothing wrong wearing your Leboutins, Jimmy Choos or sporting all your Stella McCartneys, Herve Legers or Narciso Rodriguezes if what pays for your credit card bills was not extracted from the withholding tax of some humble employee who has to brave the long lines to get into the MRT and invest even greater courage cramped into the tiny space of a train coach overflowing with daily commuters just to get a salary of less than P9000 a month.  

It is OK to stuff your mouth with delicious sushi filled with luscious salmon roe if what pays for your food was not filched from the VAT incorporated in the purchase of goods from a grocery that a minimum wage earner must pay for to feed his family on a daily budget basis.

This is the cause of the present indignation.

People pay taxes to finance government projects so that we have better roads, build a better educational system, develop a credible and effective health care program.  Thirty-three per cent (that is clearly one third) of an employee's salary is not deducted from his take home pay in order to finance a birthday party in some fancy hotel on the other side of the Pacific.  It is not only very wrong --- it is repulsive.

More than the lavish acquisitions of both real estate properties as well as all forms of assets by the family of the alleged mastermind, it is the sudden realization that nothing has changed. It is this frustration mixed with disillusionment --- because each and every time there is new leadership, you keep hoping that the country's history will be shaped by far more than rah-rah-rah speeches or great rhetoric.

You wish there would indeed be leadership that is selfless because it ruled by dedication, principle and conviction --- and not shaped by media frenzy or a marvel of personality marketing. After a while you get an overload of promises that end up as nothing but nicely constructed syllables meant to make sense and boost the morale.

At the end of the day, you find out that the country hasn't budged an inch. That is because for every step forward, you take three backwards. It is like dancing very bad cha-cha.

Yes, there are sincere efforts to clean the system: that much we appreciate.  There are those who cast doubts stating that everything is tinted by politics, politicking and partisanship but it has reached that point that anything that can lead to positive change (both in the short and long terms) is good as good can get.  

So we are in this phase of purging, of national cleansing --- sorting out the weeds from the blooms and making sure there is enough room in the ground for good things to flourish.  There are all the reports about crime busting, castigating the corrupt --- and exposing those who undermine the stability of the republic.

Despite doubts of some, you cling onto to hope, assuring yourself that things will be better because those in charge are capable of greater moral fortitude.  

And then we get this.

And then we are told that both senators and congressmen have actually usurped the money (knowingly ... or worse, unwittingly)  allocated for their PDAF (Priority Development Aid Fund) to non-existent NGOs. We are told that there is a modus operandi that exists between the offices of the lawmakers and the minions of the Pork Lady.  We are also informed that this has been going on for years. Systematically operational ... for years, my God!

Millions of pesos have been siphoned from the national piggy bank so that some girl can drive her Porsche and keep her lifestyle in an apartment at the Ritz-Carlton.  Millions may or may not have been pocketed by the very people who we elected to guide us through the most turbulent and trying times and to focus on what are the prospects available to glorious nationhood.

This infuriates a whole lot of us ... no, it is tantamount to rage because we feel so cheated that what we yield as our taxes was used to sustain lavish lifestyles that even we cannot dream of remotely achieving.

Actually, it is disgusting. And heartbreaking.

More than the P10B stolen from what should have been invested in nation building, giving aid to those devastated by national calamities or improve the quality and scope of our infrastructure, the greater pain comes from the realization that you do not know who to trust any more. 

Worse than that, you fear that you have lost your trust on the lawmakers whose names have been dragged into this scam.  Whether they are victims themselves of some grand design meant to discredit individuals or nip political ambitions, we cannot tell ... and for some, we couldn't care less.  What is so painful to realize at this moment is that you no longer know who to believe ... and if we so choose to invest our faith even in some, we no longer know how. Or even ask ourselves if we still should or could.

After the latest expose of the head of the Commission on Audit, more names of senators and congressmen from both sides of the color camps were dragged into this quagmire of shame and brazen theft.  If this were a ploy to castrate the Opposition in building their war chest for the Battle of 2016, then this is one of the most gross miscalculations in Philippine Political Strategies.  The revelations blew right on the faces of everybody ... and by that, we mean ... everybody.

A security guard (in all his simple wisdom) encapsulated the feeling most want to pinpoint but never had the guts to say: "Sir, umasa ka pa? Pare-pareho lang po sila."

Then one also begins to wonder: if the pork barrel were removed or abolished, how many would still aspire to be senators or congressmen? Every senator gets P200M a year allocation --- while every congressman gets P70M.  Take away that --- and would we have as many patriots yearning to serve the mamamayang Pilipino because they woke up one morning and realized that this was their real mission in life?

We cannot be all that cynical.  There are people out there who deserve the position of great responsibility to assume national leadership. But at the moment they do not stand the chance because they don't have the backing, the support, the manpower ... and more important, the money to do so. 

Just now I received a text message from my accountant quoting the exact amount I have to pay for my monthly VAT.  I looked at the text message and the price I have to pay next week ...and realized that something already died in me.  It is not only about the amount I have to pay ... it is the feeling of helplessness that goes with the payment.

And I do not want to be helpless any more.






28 comments:

  1. Mabulunan sana lahat ng nagtatamasa ng Pork Barrel na yan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The CORRUPTS are Burying the Filipinos ALIVE…and Pinoy is just watching. All the evidence is out there but the SCAM BUGS and THIEVES in the Government are having their business as usual. TAMA NA Ang PANG-GAGAGO sa mga Filipino…FILIPINO BUMANGON KA NA at IPAG-LABAN ang inyong karapatan bago kayo ilibing ng buhay!!!
      Kala ko mag-babago na ang Corrupt na Lipunan dahil sa plataporma ni Pinoy na ” KUNG WALANG CORRUPT WALANG MAHIRAP”. E alam niya na ROOT cause ng CORRUPTION an PORK BARREL, tapos ayaw pa niyang tangalin. Ang dami na ng evidencia laban sa mga Senador at Congressmen, peru puro lang evidencia at hinde kasuhan…The real CULPRITS of the PORK BARREL SCAM are doing business as usual sa Congress and Senate. In short CRIMINALS ARE RUNNING THE COUNTRY. Only in the Philippines, THIEVES have FUN!!!………
      GISING NA MGA KABABAYAN, TAMA NA ANG PANG-GAGAGO ng mga SCAM BUGS na mga Politicos. Dapat ang mga senador, congressmen at mga officiales ng govierno ay naninilbihan sa bilangguan at hinde sa govierno…Aug. 26, 2013 ang RALLY sa Luneta…PEOPLE POWER NA!!! SOBRA NA, TAMA NA!!!

      Delete
    2. Everything in this write up and this comment just articulated all I wanted to say and write...but could not find the energy because something inside me also died. I wish we all wake up again and this time, really mean business in putting these scalawags to prison, mapa congressman o senador o Napoles man sila.

      Delete
  2. the napoleses are the latest in a long line of scammers who have looted public funds. she is not the first, and wont be the last. why? because our efforts to stop corruption arent serious. as if we actually want it to be entrenched. and so it is a thriving industry. as for us, we are like householders who keep expressing shock at every robbery that occurs while we sleep, even if that happens every week. funny because we havent intensified security at all. we keep leaving that to people in the house who might be conspirators and give us nothing of true value.

    ReplyDelete
  3. shame on us to even let this happen...

    ReplyDelete
  4. its greed, kawawa naman mga taong nais mamuhay ng marangal. All those crooks are holed up in their sanctuary built from graft and corruption

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well said...well said, thank you. Everything you said is true in my own opinion though they made me puke big time and a giant butterfly just won't leave my tummy after reading your article. This kind of people has no shame whatsoever. They can try to hide their true colors and intentions behind religios,priests and bishops but the truth will always come out. shame...shame...shame

    ReplyDelete
  6. why they introduced the pork barrel instead of choosing to pay the BIG DEBTS of the Philippines? Those Politicians are greedy! they are after their own pockets, they use it as they own business to be a senator, congressman etc... they are not after for the well being of the people or to support our country and countrymen, they are supporting their big pork bellies! kawawa naman ang ating bansa at mga mamamayan! PEOPLE'S POWER ang kailangan!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This pork barrel has been d agenda of corrupting governments money,this should have been long abolished and don't let this corrupt people in d government enjoying their lavish lifestyle , they are a humiliation to d whole world .. Senators, congressmen were d famous one incorporating this agenda , Filipinos were blinded by their sweet words ,sweet faces on tv giving sweet promises but joking aside we are d end point of their never ending thieving .. If I have d power I will thrash them with heavy rain stone and only falls on to d right corrupted people ...... How can we generate good governance if d people on top are d worst example .. Am not counting Noynoy ......

    ReplyDelete
  8. all the more good reason to join the UNIFIED rally march on Aug 26 at Luneta to show our indignation to this government & governments before it; keeping silent on the worst kind of atrocities these filthy lawmakers have upon us. and it doesn't stop with Napoles, because Pinoys all over might be footing the $900M loan the world bank has released and funneled to PNB c/o Lucio Tan in order to get out from its debt.. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1411335522411826 When will this stop? If we feed Kris Aquino to the crocs, will that matter? I'm tearing out of frustration for this country. I think it is about time we need to do something radical to stop this once & for all

    ReplyDelete
  9. TAMA! Para po sa kaalaman ng lahat.... Tayo po ay nagbabayad lahat ng ating buwis (Tax)... Mapa mahirap o mayaman... yung mga nagtratrabaho sa pamamagitan ng Withholding Tax ng kanilang sweldo.... yung walang trabaho pero bumibili naman ng mga bagay na may VAT ay nakakabigay din ng TAX sa ating gobyerno....Lahat tayong Pilipino ay niloloko at kinakwartahan ng mga Corrupt na ito! TAMA! dapat tanggalin na ang Pork Barrel na yan! Tingnan ko lang kung may tumakbo pa ng Congressman! Mga !!!%$&*# kayong mga mambabatas!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. that's why many greedy snakes our wanting to join politics using thé agenda that they want to serve thé filipino people,,,c'mon u can sèrve your fellow country men W/o thé position,....many filipinos our suffering from hunger and poverty they will do anything just to have foods on their table..NOYNOY YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING....forget the palakasan system,gratitudes from all the crocs...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for your well-written thoughts. I have been so hopeful about PNoy and the recent economic gains. But this whole thing has plunged me back into misery!

    ReplyDelete
  12. PNoy...gagawa ka sa tama at ang dapat gawin...prove what you promised...i demand results. I too am a taxpayer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. wishing the same thing, otherwise..DAANG TUWID NG INA MO!

      Delete
  13. Taxes should be suspended until they resolve this! Ayoko na magbayad ng taxes honestly. Wish all companies would withhold remitting all their employees' taxes unti; this is resolved or until pork barrell is abolished or until FOI has been passed. What a sad little country we are.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey Guys, Cheer up!!! It's not all doom & gloom. I feel your despair and frustration but there are good forces that are working behind the scenes, so we just have to be little patient even though it is difficult and seems impossible. It's not just in PI, this is Worldwide Tyranny.

    But we also have to do our part ( non violent ) even though it seems helpless, every little thing count. It starts with changing our behavior towards each other, being more humble and being conscious of our actions, respect nature and sending light & love to all good and even bad so that they may be awaken and re-direct their path towards service to others other than themselves. There was a study of 7,000 people who meditated for peace and resulted to a drastic reduction in crime. Imagine if everyone in the world did this, we would be in heaven.
    Filipinos are inherently good and kind people as well as talented, we've just been dumb down and condition to praising a certain idealistic image and status, we forgot who we are, our core value, our ethics, our honor to ourselves and to others. We are too busy wanting to be that other person that we forgot how beautiful we are inside and out.
    Like I said there are good forces working tireless to usher a world without poverty and war.
    You can start seeing disclosure happening, perhaps not fast enough but it is happening.

    I highly recommend watching " Thrive" (What on earth is it going to take). This is wonderful documentary film that will give you a scope of why we live in this prison planet, this matrix.
    For updates on current events, not your mainstream media. I highly recommend reading the following blog post. It is an eye opener, a step out of the matrix.

    http://divinecosmos.com/start-here/davids-blog
    http://briankellysblog.blogspot.com
    http://americankabuki.blogspot.com
    http://i-uv.com/i-uv-blog/
    http://kauilapele.wordpress.com
    http://removingtheshackles.blogspot.com

    P.S. Pay particular attention to Zap, Benjamin Fulford, David Wilcock as well as The One People bog talk radio or 5d network. No preference, they are all good. But whatever you watch or read, they are information presented to you, not to convince you or persuade you. You will ultimately decide what resonate within you. God bless!

    ReplyDelete
  15. If the allegations are not true then why this woman hide in the first place? Hope this will never happen again and hope public officials will not be tempted to commit the same mistake..Godbless our country..

    ReplyDelete
  16. Why cant we ALL just agree on NOT PAYING taxes and lets see what the government would do next?

    ReplyDelete
  17. for the first time in my life I am broken hearted...because of some woman i never met.

    ReplyDelete
  18. what we should do is show the government that we, taxpayers, deserve more from them. they have to explain that to us. I will be in Luneta on August 26 to support all the taxpayers who are angry and frustrated by all of these. let us be there to show the government that we will not sit back this time. let our voice be heard.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I own a small bakery, gross income is 5,000 a day, and I have to pay percentage tax of 4,000 a month, and another tax of 10,000 per quarter, literally very very taxing, but we got no choice right? we need to pay, i need to pay, or else the ever strict and mighty BIR will slap me with a 50,000 fine if i am caught of not paying my dues....so depressing, parang naghahanap buhay lang tayo para sa kanila.

    ReplyDelete