Aquino's defense in vain and his collusion with the thieving elites

When President Aquino made that stirring speech sometime three years ago, the public thought that everything will change for the better. In this country, it is highly necessary for the head of State to be thought of as a paragon of good and right conduct. In a country where every one thinks he's a demi-god, and where every single one thinks that he is above the law, it is refreshing to know that there is someone who will not lead the entire greedy pack and pillage the public coffers.

One of the basic and simplest requirement for a head of State is he is perceived to be a good follower of the Law. The Law is the one that keeps us sane. It brings order.

Now, when President Aquino made that defense on national television, everyone thinks that "his request is particularly odd and probably highly important" that the people thought that he will announce a breakthrough or a nice thing before we all go to our cemeteries and remember our dead.

We were wrong.

Instead of humbling himself before the Filipino masses whom he described as his "bosses", President Aquino defended that one single thing that makes the people think of him as no different from those members of his elite clan who stole billions from us.

Aquino made another dig at his Presidential Social Action Fund and his unconstitutional creation, the DAP. He says that these billions from our hard-earned taxes are being put to good use anyway, forget that the basic charter disallows such a practice.

Aquino is being entirely selfish. Yes, the DAP probably brought a lot of headaches to rest, but it is still UNCONSTITUTIONAL, period. Forget that it is just an invention of Budget secretary Butch Abad to justify the grant of 50 million pesos each to those Senators who took part in the impeachment of a Chief Justice, the point is, those funds were not stolen, and were put to good use.

The President simply missed the point, entirely.

What the public oppose is the misuse of these funds. Funds that came from our wallets should be used as intended by the Basic Charter, which we all repose our trust with.

The Basic Charter is clear---no appropriations to be made without the concurrence of Congress and savings generated by the Executive department are not to be toyed with. Period. That is the charter. That is the Law. As Chief Executive, the duty of Aquino is follow the law.

What appears now is even our very Head of State is not obeying the laws all because it suits him. Lawsare there to establish regularity of actions. What will prevent a future president from disabusing these savings now that Aquino has established a precedent?

It is simply our luck (really?) that the current Chief Executive is "not a thief." But because Aquino has set a precedence, and is now using these monies without any body making him accountable for every single cent, should we then, entrust him, and say that everything is okey since the president himself said that he's no thief?

Aquino is probably less inclined to toy with our funds, but what about his KKK gang, especially those who contributed millions to his election kitty and are now poised to get their investments back? What about them Mr. Aquino?

What about those close associates of yours whom you will give our monies away to implement your projects? Are you sure that they are not getting their kickbacks or commissions?

Imagine our aghast when you even defended the MWSS board, whose members got millions from the agency's corporate funds, to fund their hefty bonuses and allowances? And where on earth did you get that idea that the MWSS is now giving dividends? To whom, I ask? Maybe Mr. Aquino is referring to those 88 million pesos as "dividends" given by Mr. Esquivel, his bosom buddy, to his closest chuwawahs?

The point is simple, Mr. President---follow the law, and everything will be fine. Since this DAP is unconstitutional, maybe you'll have the gall, nay, the strong political will, to rectify your error and scrap this altogether. That would probably save us a lot of trouble.

And if you be so kind, since you are doing everything possible to prove that you're different from the rest of those greedy politicians in your midst, maybe you'll be so kind as to scrap the pork barrel included in the General Appropriations Act?

And since you're so convinced that you are doing the right thing, maybe what you do is establish a Truth Commission so that the dispensation of justice will be faster, for the benefit of the entire citizenry?

No one believes you when you said that you're prosecuting those responsible for stealing the people's monies when you do not have have the gall to even call for this Commission? You are simply dumping these cases to the lap of the Ombudsman who, you know, straddles between the land of the straight and the "not so straight". Everyone knows that nothing will happen if these cases find themselves at the desk of the Ombudsman. Analysts say it will take years, at least nine, before we quench the people's thirst for justice.

Even now, those accused of stealing the people's monies are now using the very monies they stole to defend themselves. Napoles, for example, maintains a battery of lawyers ready to defend her against the people's gauntlet. Imagine---these stolen sums could actually free the thief from the prospect of jailtime?

Stop double talking, and try doing the right thing.

Prosecute even your close associates who are now in double "overtime" trying to outdo each other in raiding the public coffers, since they feel that you're entering the last phase of your rule.

Maybe firing all those executives from these GOCCs would be a better thing to do instead of wasting our precious time watching you fumble and spew those white lies?

I believe that you're simply not the Noynoy we knew before--a man committed to realize the ideals of your dad, the martyr, Ninoy.

You made extra effort in isolating yourself from the rest of the greedy pack by saying that you are no thief. Maybe. Yet, by not firing those around you who continually connive with the likes of Napoles and her ilk, and by allowing your close associates to enter into shady deals and get fat bonuses for themselves, you are practically in accordance with them and their evil acts.

We, Filipinos, have a saying--you will know a person by the friends he keeps.

If you have a friend, the likes of, say Gerardo Esquivel of the MWSS, or that chairman of the Philhealth, who are underperformers but still think they deserve those millions in bonuses and allowances, then, you are no different from the barong clad thieves that people coffee shops.

All these are God's handiwork. God is trying to show us what the Bible wrote a long time ago---that not one of us is clean before the sight of God, the Father of All. Until our leaders admit in utter humility their sins before the people whom they vowed to serve and unless they return those they stole, then, there will never be justice, just chaos.

Who then will follow the law, when the very One who we entrusted to keep it pristine, is the very breaker of the Law? This is the sad reality of our times. No one is following the Law. Every one thinks he is above it all. If this is the case, then, better that we unleash anarchy, since we are all in it.