Punchline
When?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
As we were about go to the press, the news of bombing of Glorietta 2 in Makati City reached us. So by the time you read this, more developments have already been reported in the media including post-mortem assessments.
What I know for certain is that the sense of panic and foreboding among Metro Manila residents will linger for a longer time than usual, while Pangasinenses will opt to stay away and postpone holiday trips to that place. And regrettably, there will likely be a continued sense of detachment, non-involvement and state of denial, if you will, by most Pangsinenses, notwithstanding the deadly implications of that bloody carnage. There will be no outrage against the suspected perpetrators whether they be the Abu Sayyaf, the NPAs or the desperate politicos.
This will be unfortunate since there is no telling anymore that whatever happens to Metro-Manilans will not happen to Pangasinenses living comfortably 150-250 kilometers away.
***
So even before the police investigators can come up with their findings, permit me this post-mortem though highly speculative at this point.
Whether or not it was a case of terrorist bombing by suspected terrorists from Mindanao or communists, the timing is simply suspect all because indicators point to a scenario that it could not have been a simple stand-alone terrorist act for the sake of terrorism alone.
Sure, the fanatical terrorists or separatists have everything gain to sow panic in the capitol, given the ominous crack in the administration’s political allies’ armor. It means opening up another battlefront that would dissipate resources of the government that the latter can ill-afford. But could this be it? I seriously doubt it.
Both the Moslem bandits and the communist insurgents are reportedly in hiding and on the run, if we are to believe our AFP’s claims. If true, to the credit of our soldiers, it therefore, is simply not possible for either group to have the resources to plan, organize and launch such a strategic terrorist attack.
If it isn’t them, then who? And why?
***
The current political events are telling enough and the deadly results show the evidence.
The bombing was done on a property owned by the Ayalas, the discreet icon of the pesky opposition in the country’s business district, Makati, also the seat of the national political opposition in the capitol region.
Then, the opposition recently smelled blood after the scandalous ZTE-NBN contract was exposed. Then before the smoke could clear so identities of the culprits of that bizarre planned swindling could be established, came another scandalous P500,000 gift-giving inside the Malacanang Palace. It came at a time when the government failed to live up to its promise to pay our soldiers at the battlefront more in combat pay.
There is also the marked build-up of consensus among civil society and the Church hierarchy, the main forces behind the 1986 People Power, to revive the “Resign Gloria” movement.
Faced with all these, only a desperate political group could think of drastic measures to sow panic and confusion in the minds of cynical public because a military option to quell the protestors over a political issue would only further enrage an aggrieved, underpaid and corrupt-ridden military establishment. It is a no-no.
So, wouldn’t a single but bloody terrorist act justify the deployment of more soldiers in the capitol region under the pretext of keeping peace and pre-empt further “terrorist attacks”, to stop a rampaging angry mob?
So who needs the soldiers to protect themselves against their own, the civil society and religious leaders? Pray tell. But then again, this is all conjecture.
***
The more relevant question to the carnage, it being a terrorist attack, is WHEN.
When will the public outrage be genuinely felt and manifested to finally put a stop to all the corruption that has bled this country effectively as to inure and desensitize people to the increasing level of lawlessness and corruption?
When will Pangasinenses stand up to the politicians in both national and local levels to the deadly corruption and stealing that’s staring at them in the eye every day of their lives? When will we join the movement for good governance?
When will Speaker Joe de V have the courage to finally lead the moral revolution that he speaks of? When will he stop passing the buck to those who continue to pay lip service in the fight against corruption?
***
HOLD-UP IN CITY’S STREETS. The PUNCH obtained a copy of the One-Stop-Business Center’s report it gave the acting city administrator about revenues generated by the illegal towing in the city by JLD Motorworks and General Services for the period 2006-2007.
At first glance, the report quickly raised more questions that need some lengthy explaining by POSO chief Robert Erfe-Mejia.
It said the illegal towing supposedly earned the city P444,776. Wrong. It was more like it was the amount turned over, not what the city rightfully earned. It also did not indicate how much was retained by or paid to JLD (and POSO).
Other telltale signs of irregularities:
1) P444,776 was the sum “paid” by “taxpayers” randomly and far and between initially by “Jaime dela Pena” of San Jacinto, then subsequently by the supposedly apprehended “violators”.
2) The report did not indicate the ORs of JLD it issued to “violators”; just the city’s ORs. (Did the city’s issued ORs reach the “violators” or were these kept by POSO and JLD?).
3) Payments made to the city government did not reflect the alleged agreed upon “20-80% sharing”. (Note: Some individual “violators” were issued ORs uniformly for P1,000, P900, and P400. Note, P900 is 81% of P1,100 penalty for towing and clamping (light vehicles); P400 is 36%. If the city was supposedly entitled to earn 20% across the board, the records would have shown receipts for only P220! But why P1,000 and P900 for some, P400 for others? While these may convey some generosity on the part of the towing company, the amounts actually indicate that remittances were made whimsically by POSO and JLD. (Note: JLD was issued city’s ORs for bigger sums ostensibly the sum total of collections made no names were listed to support the collections.).
Assuming that P444,776 represented the city’s P20% share, the “operators” of the illegal towing pocketed P1,779,104 at the very least! Or if it’s the gross collection, did the city still pay JLD P355,820.20 and retained only P88,955.20 as income? The report did not say.
One can surmise how much was actually earned by the series of holdups of motorists perpetrated by the POSO and the “gang”. Yes, a hold-up because the fines were illegally exacted from hapless motorists illegally using the POSO uniform as legal cover.
Someone must account for these crimes no different from those bank robberies perpetrated by masked men using military/police uniforms.
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/
Readers may reach columnist at punch.sunday@gmail.com . For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
