Keep our eye on the ball

It’s like a spreading ink stain, creeping from Janet Lim-Napoles and her cohorts, her partners among the senators and congressmen to no less than P-Noy and his allies in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

After Sen. Jinggoy Estrada declared in his privilege speech that he and members of the opposition were being “singled out” in the pork barrel investigation, he revealed that other senators, a number of them President Aquino’s allies, had likewise benefited from another form of “pork,” funds drawn from what is now called the DAP or Disbursement Acceleration Program.

It mattered little that Estrada himself had availed of the DAP, and that even a vociferous critic of the pork barrel, known euphemistically under the acronym of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, as Sen. Joker Arroyo, likewise received DAP funds.

Long before Estrada spilled the beans about the DAP, other Aquino critics had tried to link the President to the mess, likening his disbursement of funds under his discretion, such as those from Pagcor and PCSO, as another form of “pork.”

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But as some people have cautioned, let’s not lose our rightful focus.

The Napoles scam, in which state funds were fraudulently accessed, transferred to bogus NGOs, with not even a single centavo going to rightful or alleged recipients, is and should remain the prime concern of everyone—official investigators and a rightfully enraged citizenry.

There is also the Malampaya scam, in which the Napoles network is also involved. Certainly, the release of funds to unworthy and undeserving causes—and not to energy development as it was originally meant—deserves to be investigated, with everyone involved charged and convicted, if need be.

Sen. Chiz Escudero, a recipient of DAP funds (the “lion’s share” in fact), has challenged his colleagues who received money from the same source to disclose just where they spent the money. Escudero said he has posted in his website where the funds went, asking other senators if they would make public where the money they received was spent.

While many are turned off by the thought of legislators insisting on getting their hands on money and spending these on their own projects, however worthy, our priorities should remain clear.

The greater crime deserving of investigation and punishment is getting one’s hands on the people’s money and then pocketing this, under the cover of fake development projects and fictitious recipients. Let’s keep our eye on the ball.

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One would think, given where they live and their status in life, that denizens of the gated communities of Makati would carry out their village affairs with a modicum of civility and a nod toward political correctness.

But as proven in real life, a posh address and a comfortable station in life are no guarantee of manners, much less ethics. This is the case with local politics in San Lorenzo Village, one of the older sub-communities surrounding the Makati Central Business District. And with the barangay elections fast approaching, the animosities between the current and past crop of barangay officials are heating up.

Perhaps because he is running for barangay chair in next month’s polls, ousted San Lorenzo “punong barangay” Joshua John “Jay” Santiago is once again coming in for a renewed barrage of charges, mostly a rehash of old issues that led to his ouster. At the same time, Santiago is raising new issues against the current crop of barangay officials, centered on financial abuses connected with the repair and construction of the barangay hall and an annex in a nearby park.

“Talagang  garapal” (really greedy) is how Santiago, who looks at least a decade younger than his real age, describes the goings-on at the village better known as “San Lo.”

He cites a few examples: P17 million budgeted for the renovation of the barangay hall; another P5 million spent for the construction of a “satellite” barangay hall made from two used container vans; and more than P14 million spent for the asphalting of a less-than-one-kilometer stretch of road on Salcedo Street.

Moreover, one trading firm, which is registered as a farm equipment and supplies provider, has seemed to corner all contracts for the barangay’s many needs, from training kits for basic disaster management, uniforms for a sports tournament, donated candies, “various vehicles” as donation to a neighboring barangay, uniforms for trainees in a peace and order seminar, even bags used to promote an “Ayaw ko ng Plastic” drive.

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In 2008, Santiago was suspended as Barangay (village) San Lorenzo chair for “dishonesty and misconduct” in relation to the bidding and purchase of street lamps, many of which had been damaged by Typhoon “Milenyo”; the alleged overpricing of a waiting shed; and the issuance of a check as a donation to the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines. (One of the barangay kagawads had solicited the donation since he has a child with Down Syndrome.)

In 2009, both the Office of the President and the Court of Appeals dismissed the charges against Santiago on the street lamps and waiting shed issues, and found him guilty of “simple misconduct” on the issuance of the check (which was not turned over because Santiago had been suspended).

But despite the rulings in favor of Santiago, the official appointed refused to turn over his post to him. Meantime, during Santiago’s suspension, the barangay council agreed with the Makati City council’s resolution realigning the boundaries of Barangay San Lorenzo. The aim of the exercise? To deprive Santiago of the votes of some 1,000 residents of an urban poor area near the Makati Medical Center which had been considered a bailiwick of his.

Hard to believe, but even in the heart of Makati, such underhanded political tactics don’t just continue, but flourish.