Answer to pork, change the system, you fools

Mark Solis, the UP masteral student who reportedly committed plagiarism in an international photo tilt, decided to return the money he won in that competition. After issuing an apology, Solis decided that he must return the money as an atonement for what he did.

Good decision. The only question is--what other things that Solis did and were plagiarized pieces? It will not be a surprise if every single piece of work that Solis does will be subject to scrutiny from now on. In the academe, more than intellect, honesty or the strength of character is much a part of one's academic life.

At least Solis had the gall to at least admit and say that he committed wrong and must pay for it. How about Solis' elders, the UP graduates who even graduated from law school and topped the bar?

Or, even those who went on to become senators, how many instances did they lied and never told anyone about it?

Senator Jinggoy Estrada wants to do a Solis, but failed. In his privilege speech, Estrada sounds like a child who's always tagged. Or some petty thief who complains to the cops on why is he always caught when there are others who committed thievery, much bigger than his.

Estrada's speech just reflected the prevailing thinking within the halls of the Senate--that it is a place for rewards. You are rewarded for your loyalty, and punished for your political affiliations. That the Senate is a place for crooks is already known by many.

We are sad that we are now living in a system where dishonesty is rewarded by billions, and the entire system has been designed to get monies from the powerless to feed the whims, wiles and caprices of the  elite. This system was never designed to reward the toils of the many, but always for the luxury of a few.

There is now, no pillar or institution of governance worthy of our trust and confidence, no agency or instrumentality of government worth our reverence. What we now know is we live in a mammoth of an infrastructure made as a huge sucking machine. this machine sucks the life blood out of us and transforms it into wealth which the rich uses as their plaything.

There is no other solution, but change the very system that allows this travesty. If we still don't want this or fools ourselves into thinking that there is still a democratic solution to these problems, then, we are not just fools but sadists.