What were Abad, other Malacañang satraps thinking?
In the wake of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s ratting about the “rewards” doled out by Malacañang to congressmen and senators (amounting to billions of pesos!) months after they voted to convict then Chief Justice Renato Corona, President Aquino’s men were all over themselves trying to cover up or cushion the impact of that embarrassing exposé. Those funds were said to have been disbursed on top of the pork barrel our “honorable” congressmen (P70 million each) and senators (P200 million each) were already helping themselves to!
At a time when public outrage against such thievery is seething to a boil, President Aquino’s moral ascendancy over all forms of venality is starting to nosedive. Already, impeachment rumors are running wild.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and the other Palace satraps dissembled bona fide intentions by saying the funds were part of a so-called “Disbursement Acceleration Program” (DAP) earmarked to fast-track or “accelerate economic development.” The timing—no, its revelation to the public—was just unfortunate. “The projects funded by DAP included tourism infrastructure, electrification of certain communities and projects of the National Housing Authority,” blah blah blah (“Palace defends release of DAP fund,” News, 10/2/13). But if that was really all there was to DAP, what the heck did they need congressmen and senators for?
Common sense dictates that the funds could have been released directly to the government agencies concerned. What were they thinking? All their “palusot” about congressmen and senators being the ones in touch with their needy constituents sounded like the same excuse that flung the door wide open for all scammers of this country to conspire with lawmakers to break all laws of decency. No Filipino with half a brain is buying any of that now. The people around the President must think very little of his “daang matuwid” battle cry. What they asked him to agree to was not only “crooked,” but superbly stupid, stupid, stupid! But then again, what was the President himself thinking?
—STEPHEN L. MONSANTO,
Monsanto Law Office,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City,
