The people’s outrage and the continuing protests against the pork barrel pushed the Aquino administration to file charges against several senators involved in the pork scam and their accomplices.
But these past months have exposed President Aquino’s role in defending the pork barrel system and covering up cases of corruption. Mr. Aquino has been shown to have had prior knowledge about the lists of those involved in the scam, which included allies of his, like Budget Secretary Butch Abad, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and key Liberal Party leaders.
Mr. Aquino has not abolished congressional pork and has defended his own in the form of the Disbursement Acceleration Program. Mr. Aquino has retained a trillion-peso pork fund and has covered up the kickback payments through anomalous public-private partnership deals like the MRT train bribe try.
Mr. Aquino, by filing cases solely against political opponents, seeks to divert the public outrage against his administration and to cover up his role as pork barrel king. But the masses will no longer be fooled by his empty “anticorruption” posturing, which targets only his political opponents while exempting party mates and Cabinet members.
Mr. Aquino is insincere in making accountable corrupt government officials. A case in point is the one against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which Mr. Aquino has bungled while giving her special treatment.
The Filipino people are demanding that all those involved in the pork barrel scam, including pork barrel king Aquino and his allies, be held accountable. Ultimately, it is the growing people’s movement against pork that will ensure that justice and accountability are exacted and genuine change is attained in our country.
As the Aquino rule continues to be exposed as corrupt and rotten, the people’s desire to oust the President and change the rotten, corrupt system gains strength.
—VENCER CRISOSTOMO,
national chair, Anakbayan,
anakbayan.media@gmail.com