The scammers’ code: wealth with dishonour

I am one of the million government employees with a fixed income from which withholding tax is regularly deducted in the payroll. It makes me so sick and disgusted that a sizeable portion of taxes dissipates through corruption by officials, congressmen and senators, who are supposed to be respectable.

I was just wondering what kind of values, if any, these senators, congressmen and officials have. In other countries, when high-ranking officials are dragged into controversies and scandals even by mere suspicion, they automatically resign from their positions out of delicadeza. It is because they value their honor. This reminds me of the late President Manuel L. Quezon’s Code of Citizenship and Ethics, a section of which states: “Value your honor as you value your life; poverty with honor is more preferable to wealth with dishonor.”

Well, what do the high-profile lawmakers and officials linked to the present PDAF and Malampaya fund scams have to say? Where do they stand? They simply deny the grave accusations against them. But they still cling to their present position like geckos. Ang kakapal ng mukha! Wala na ba silang kahihiyan?

By the way, in the photo captioned “Come Play With Me” (Metro, 6/4/14), the bird trying to land (perch) on the tail of “Felix” (the cat) is not a “tarat” but a “maria capra,” a local bird known for “flirting” with dogs, cats, chickens and even humans in sight. It is a playful bird and makes a distinct noisy, shrill bird call/sound.

—FORTUNATO P. LEMENCE,

San Isidro, Nueva Ecija