Punchline
Killing the IRA with NBN et al.
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
To many, the brouhaha over Joey de Venecia’s expose on the national broadband network (NBN) may have simply provided them some true-to-life drama for the day’s entertainment while others take the senate hearing as another waste of time as Sen. Miriam Santiago herself echoed.
Sadly, these people obviously do not have a single clue as to what is at stake. Worse, the issue is being muddled by those co-opted to defend the Arroyo administration by hook or by crook.
Take Sen. Santiago. She outdid herself again grandstanding as she did in downplaying the significance of this monumental scandal. Far from it, the senate hearing cannot be considered a mere squabble among the greedy and corrupt for it portends of worse times ahead.
Unless the accountable persons are finally made to account, it will be us in the countryside who will suffer the brunt.
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What Senator Santiago attempted to achieve was for the public to pooh-pooh the senate investigation and eventually to label the event as another political play by the opposition aimed at embarrassing the Arroyo family.
What she is not telling is the fact that if the contract is consummated, we will find ourselves continually paying the EVAT for another 20 years instead of seeing it lifted in 5 years.
What she doesn’t want us to know is that the same set of corrupt public officials have become greedier by the month, no longer helping themselves to a couple of millions but hundreds of millions from our hard-earned taxes.
What she wants us to ignore is the fact that the President’s spouse is again up to his old “fund-raising” tricks at the people’s expense.
(In attempting to belabor her point, it’s funny how she ended up humiliating herself, eating her words (not bullets) before she could even finish her breakfast. Her soundbyte that smacked of a racist slur against the Chinese crossed the lines of decency in the world of diplomacy).
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The NBN deal is not simply about a quarrel among thieves. It is about thieves holding public office wanting to rob us blind until our people are hobbled by extreme poverty.
It is about diverting precious revenues due towns and cities to the bank accounts of the men and women who will do all to keep us mired in poverty.
As if the present situation is not bad enough where remittances of Internal Revenue Allotments by national government to local governments are delayed by some 3 years, the approval of billion-worth projects akin to the NBN will ultimately mean indefinite suspension of remittances of IRA.
Yes, the IRA will soon be lost to the pockets of the few powerful and influential with the Arroyo administration unless the people put a stop to the frenzy, stealing from the people’s coffers.
Alas, only a frenzy of rage by our people is all that is left to stop this madness.
***
A NEW ROLE FOR A PRESS CLUB? Last week, I received a copy of a resolution adopted by the Pangasinan Press and Radio Club. Frankly, I was disturbed.
The club’s resolution 003-07 called “for PPRC leadership to conduct a performance rating of the PNP in Pangasinan among PPRC members and creating a committee that shall assist in administering the same.” It was to take effect on the 3rd week of September.
While I am prepared to give my colleagues the benefit of the doubt that they, indeed, want nothing else but to see an improvement in the efficiency of the police, I’m afraid they have a complete misunderstanding of the role of media as a whole, and of their practice, in particular.
I have no idea where they got the notion that media practitioners coming together as a club can arrogate unto themselves the mandate of non-government groups passing judgment on performance of government agencies.
What makes them think that they are competent to administer a rating program over the police? Worse, what makes them think that their “rating” will trigger an improvement in police action?
Without resorting to such inane resolutions and creating “special committees”, the man on the street will readily tell you that the performance of our police leaves much to be desired. So, what purpose will the “rating” serve?
We have the President and the police generals with all their authority and resources, tasked to deliver an effective police but still they have failed miserably to prompt our cops to serve and protect our people effectively and efficiently. (In fairness to the dedicated police officers who are evidently doing their level best, people understand that they are hampered by their corrupt superiors). If they can’t do it, who can? A press club?
To my mind, a “rating program” by a press club on any government agency can only serve one purpose – blackmail.
I pray this was not the intention.
***
What I found presumptuous if not pretentious is one premise that was articulated to justify the resolution.
It read: “Whereas the officers and members of the PPRC, it being their daily chore to gather and report news, are in the perfect position to rate the performance of the PNP in Pangasinan in the campaign against criminality, illegal drugs and illegal gambling, especially jueteng.” Really?
If this premise is to be held true, then a press club must be in a “perfect position” to rate the judges, the elected officials, military, the NPAs, etc., as well. Hence, to prove its competency and proficiency, the club will have to launch a rating program and publish the results and mechanics of each rating with some regularity. Will and can PPRC do that?
If the answer is in the negative, then one can only wonder why there is this peculiar interest in rating the PNP.
Again, I pray it’s not about creating the scenario to compel the PNP to fork over higher jueteng payola.
If the PPRC members truly want to see an improvement in public services (and they should), then it must be demonstrated by their individual independent practice without need to invoke the “almighty power” of a press club.
All it really takes is to be critical and fair, to be quick to expose verified wrongdoings of corrupt public officials, soldiers, cops, judges, etc. That should make them proud, respectable members of PPRC.
A rating game is reserved for the lazy, unethical enterprising medya-medyahan. Who are they? This is the first order of the day for PPRC. Expose them.
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/)
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